French President Jacques Chirac defied public opinion on Tuesday by keeping his prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, but ordered a government reshuffle after his ruling conservatives were routed in regional elections.
The decision to retain the unpopular Raffarin prompted the left-wing opposition to accuse Chirac of ignoring the French people, and raised new doubts about the speed and scope of cost-cutting reforms.
"Jacques Chirac has just given the French people the two fingers (insult)," Jean-Marc Ayrault, head of the Socialists in parliament, said.
The presidency said in a statement that the make-up of the new cabinet would be announced on Wednesday.
Chirac delayed a visit to Moscow by a day to allow him to attend its first meeting on Friday. Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin cancelled a visit to Berlin and delayed a trip to Haiti amid speculation he might receive a new post.
Other speculation focused on Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Raffarin's deputy and France's most popular minister.
Some observers saw him replacing Francis Mer as finance minister while others expected him to be rewarded with new powers on top of his existing brief.
The victory for the Socialist Party and its allies in this month's election to 26 regional councils was seen as a vote of no-confidence in Raffarin and his reforms, which have prompted protests. The left had demanded his removal and new policies.
Now Raffarin, who took office in mid-2002, is expected to push ahead with unpopular reforms such as cost cutting in the public healthcare system to try to reduce France's public deficit to within limits set by the European Union.
But he may not go as far or as fast as originally planned - and he could still be sacrificed if protests continue or expand, and June's European Parliament election goes badly.
CHIRAC-RAFFARIN "PACT": "Jacques Chirac gives Jean-Pierre Raffarin 100 days of respite," ran the front-page headline of Le Monde daily, saying the two had made a pact under which Raffarin had until the June European elections to perform better - or be sacked.
Chirac knows he has three years until the next presidential and parliamentary elections and the centre-right has a strong parliamentary majority.
Even so, other commentators from various parts of the spectrum were not so sure that he had been astute.
"There's a risk of people taking to the streets to voice their anger," said political scientist Mariette Sineau.
David Naude, an economist at Deutsche Bank, called it "the worst possible outcome for economic reform".
Communist leader Marie-George Buffet said keeping Raffarin was "an affront to the electorate". Noel Mamere, a prominent Greens parliamentarian, said: "I have a feeling the president of the Republic does not understand the French people."
Raffarin, 55, left the presidential palace smiling but said nothing to reporters after a tense two days in which his future had hung in the balance.
The left won 50 percent of the vote to 37 percent for the centre-right in Sunday's second round of regional elections.
Surveys after the election suggested a majority of voters wanted Raffarin to quit and Chirac to name a new prime minister.
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