Sarkozy shapes French Cabinet

PARIS, May 18 (UPI) -- The French government's newest cabinet member is a former prime minister who was convicted in a party funding scandal.

Alain Juppe has been tapped as minister of environment and sustainable development, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced.

Juppe was forced to resign as head of the ruling UMP party in 2004 after his conviction. He is to become the second most senior minister in Sarkozy's government, after Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Juppe served as prime minister under former President Jacques Chirac and is considered one of the smartest politicians of his generation, the Financial Times reported Friday. His government, however, collapsed in the aftermath of protests about his attempts in 1995 to impose pension reforms.

Sarkozy has named Jean-Louis Borloo as minister of economy, employment and finance and appointed seven women as ministers, including Michele Alliot-Marie as interior minister, a sensitive job given the unrest in the metropolitan suburbs in recent years, the Times said.