E UROPE IS A continent of coalition governments, painful to forge and fragile to maintain. Most European politicians are familiar with their challenges. For Michel Barnier’s new French government, however,

The new cabinet pulls in allies from the centre and right, despite left-wing parties winning France's election.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Antoine Armand as finance minister, thrusting a 33-year-old with limited political experience into an urgent budget battle in which he must maintain tacit support from the far right to avoid government collapse.