Former Prime Minister Mr. Edgar Faure was elected President of the French National Assembly on Monday (2 April) when the House met for the first time since the recent general election.

The 64-year-old Mr. Faure, a Gaullist, was twice Prime Minister in the 1950s and Minister for Social Affairs in the outgoing government. The Presidency of the 490-seat National Assembly is the third-highest post in the country, after the French President and the Senate leader.

The Assembly is electing head of key parliamentary committees this week and President Pompidou is due to announce members of the new French Government under Prime minister Pierre Messmer on Thursday (5 April).

The new government is expected to introduce a programme of social reform. It has a 60-seat overall majority in the Assembly.