French president shakes up Cabinet

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron incorporated several little-known figures into his government Wednesday as part of a reshuffle after corruption scandals started tarnishing his new Cabinet.

Macron had planned to rearrange the government after his centrist party won a majority in parliamentary elections Sunday. He was forced to make more changes than expected because four ministers facing investigations announced this week that they would step down.

Macron’s office announced Wednesday that Florence Parly, a former executive and budget official, would become the new defense minister after the previous defense chief, Sylvie Goulard, the highest ranking woman in the 5-week-old government, stepped down.

Macron also named Nicole Belloubet, a legal expert and member of France’s Constitutional Court, as justice minister after her predecessor, Francois Bayrou, was forced to quit earlier in the day. Bayrou, who was leading Macron’s crusade to purify politics, was forced to quit over corruption allegations.