France's 34 new cabinet ministers assumed office on Thursday, one day after being named by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, according to dpa. The new ministers moved into their offices over the course of the morning, with the first handover taking place at the Education Ministry, where the 51-year-old teacher Vincent Peillon was introduced to his official duties. Ayrault's cabinet members - half of who are women - include several political heavyweights. Among them are former prime minister Laurent Fabius, who is now the foreign minister. President Francois Hollande's former campaign manager, Pierre Moscovici, takes over as finance minister, and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, his former campaign spokeswoman, is the minister for women's rights - a new cabinet position. The first cabinet meeting, which will be headed by Hollande, is set to take place later Thursday. Its first order of business is the reduction of the president's and ministers' salaries.
