Marielle de Sarnez

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has named a group of relative unknowns to senior government cabinet posts over traditional allies after a series of high-profile resignations.

As a spokesman announced the names of ministers appointed, political analysts said many voters would be left asking: “Who?”

President Emmanuel Macron's allies from the under-fire MoDem party quit the government, complicating what had been billed as a routine ministerial reshuffle days after his party emphatically won parliamentary elections.