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.

The French government, which missed a deadline this week to set a blueprint to lower its debt and deficit, is struggling to meet fiscal requirements set by the E.U.

France's budgetary situation is "very serious", Prime Minister Michel Barnier told AFP on Wednesday, saying more information was needed to gauge the "precise reality" of French public finances. France was placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules before Barnier was picked as head of government this month by