Sarkozy replaces key ministers in cabinet reshuffle

Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has replaced the government's ministers of immigration and labour in a reshuffle of the Cabinet.

Sarkozy also abolished the position of junior minister for ecology and rearranged the hierarchy of the labour and housing ministries.

The president announced the widely expected shake-up on Thursday.

Brice Hortefeux is leaving the Immigration Ministry, where he had been dubbed the "minister of fear" by pro-immigrant groups for expelling illegal immigrants. Hortefeux is now taking charge of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, where he will deal with France's vocal labor unions.

Former Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand is taking over the helm of Sarkozy's conservative party UMP.