Foreign minister Dominique de Villepin, a relentless critic of the US war in Iraq, will head the Interior Ministry under a major French government shake-up.

FOREIGN Minister Dominique de Villepin, a relentless critic of the US war in Iraq, will head the Interior Ministry under a French government shake-up announced last night.

Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, a relentless critic of the US war in Iraq, will head the Interior Ministry under a major French government shake-up announced tonight.

France’s education minister today threatened to punish teachers who disrupt graduation exams by protesting against government plans to overhaul the country’s costly pension system.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin tonight named France’s first centre-right Cabinet in five years, selecting a veteran diplomat to lead the Foreign Ministry and for the first time a woman as head of defence.