France edged closer to having a new government, more than two months after a hung election, as new Prime Minister Michel Barnier's office said he had pulled together a list of ministers he will submit to President Emmanuel Macron later on Thursday.

With a 57 per cent approval rating, Mr Barnier shot to the top of the popularity rankings ahead of three of his predecessors: Edouard Philippe (55 per cent), Gabriel Attal (54 per cent) and Jean Castex (54 per cent), according to an Ifop-Fiducial poll for Paris Match and Sud Radio. By contrast, Mr Macron is languishing in 44th place on 31 per cent.