French Government has been dissolved amid turmoil

 

The French government was dissolved this morning, Monday, August 25, 2014 amid turmoil among top ministers.

According to CNN reports, President Francois Hollande asked Prime Minister Manuel Valls to form a new government, which will be announced Tuesday, Hollande's office said in a statement posted on Twitter.

French media reported that the upheaval was caused by public calls from Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg for a major reorientation of economic policy in a country where growth has stalled and unemployment remains high.

Montebourg's comments were seen as a challenge to the authority of Hollande and Valls.

"The crisis in the heart of the government is clear, and it promises to be bloody," reported Le Figaro, a right-leaning national newspaper.

Socialist leader Hollande said he wants the new government to be "a team that is coherent with the course that he himself has set for our country," the statement from his office said.

Hollande has the worst approval ratings of any French President on record. Valls' popularity, meanwhile, has shown a decline in recent opinion polls.

Valls has been in the post of Prime Minister since March 31, replacing Jean-Marc Ayrault. Hollande has held the presidency since 2012, when he defeated his predecessor, the center-right leader Nicolas Sarkozy.