French president Francois Hollande has sacked his prime minister and replaced him with popular interior minister Manuel Valls after the Socialist party suffered major losses to the conservatives and far-right in the local elections.
French voters have dealt a severe blow to Francois Hollande's Socialist government in local elections.
The anti-immigration far right, which claims that France's large Muslim population is "Islamicising" the nation, made solid advances, fulfilling National Front promises to begin building a grass-roots base.
Socialist leaders conceded defeat in the final round of the voting seen as a referendum on unpopular President Hollande, who was expected to reshuffle the cabinet in an effort to give his government a boost.
The Democratic presidential candidate may also have shown his cards on his choice of running mate.
The US president also shared a post on Twitter accusing Dr Anthony Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.
Fears over an impending second wave of coronavirus dominates Wednesday’s front pages.