Villepin new French PM
Reuters, Paris
French President Jacques Chirac named loyalist Dominique de Villepin, 51, his new prime minister on Tuesday. He replaced Jean-Pierre Raffarin who quit earlier yesterday. Villepin is a former interior and foreign minister who angered the United States but won French hearts with his fierce opposition to the US-led war in Iraq.He now has the task of reshaping government policy after voters showed their distaste for Raffarin's economic policies and high unemployment in Sunday's vote on the EU charter. In a short statement, Raffarin defended his record over the past three years and said Sunday's defeat had not triggered his decision. "I took this decision independently of the outcome of the referendum on the European constitution," he said. Promotion of the loyal Villepin could be a sign Chirac intends to fight back after the referendum humiliation and keep open his options for seeking a third term in 2007. A career diplomat, aristocrat and sometime poet, Villepin won applause at the United Nations and plaudits at home on the right and the left for opposing the US-led war in Iraq, but angered and frustrated Washington.
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