Ex-minister heads ruling REM party in parliament

A former junior minister under investigation over a property deal has been elected head of the ruling Republique En Marche (REM) party's parliamentary group.

Richard Ferrand resigned as minister for territorial cohesion on Monday, a post he had held for barely a month, after President Emmanuel Macron's asked him to run instead for the more senior role presiding over the 308 REM deputies in the Assembly.

The MP for Brest - a key ally for Mr Macron during his run for president and who led REM's parliamentary campaign - was elected as the party's parliamentary leader on a show of hands on Saturday, according to news agency AFP, which said that there were only two abstentions.

Prosecutors in the Brittany city are investigating whether a property deal involving Mr Ferrand's wife amounts to a conflict of interest.

Mr Macron pledged to clean up politics during his campaign. But the investigation surrounding Mr Ferrand is not the only issue in which the new government is embroiled. A rapid cabinet reshuffle was required this week when another three ministers resigned amid allegations of wrongdoing.

MoDem leader Francois Bayrou joined party colleagues, defence minister Sylvie Goulard and European affairs minister Marielle de Sarnez, in standing down from government following accusations that MoDem misused European Parliament cash to pay assistants who are based in France.

Mr Bayrou is not part of the investigation but said he was stepping down to fight what he called 'a smear campaign' of which he believed he was the intended target.

He said that he would continue to support Mr Macron in government.

MoDem had formed an alliance with REM for both the presidential and legislative elections - and the government posts were a reward for their support.