President François Hollande orders cabinet reshuffle amid economy row

France was thrown into fresh crisis on Monday after President François Hollande asked his prime minister to form a new government following an open feud within his cabinet over the country’s economic direction.

The president ordered Prime Minister Manuel Valls to form a new cabinet "consistent with the direction [Hollande] has set for the country," the presidency said in a statement.

It did not give any reasons, but the move comes after Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg spent his weekend bad-mouthing the country's economic direction and ally Germany in a much-criticised show of insubordination.