PARIS,Reuters,10 FEB 2016–  French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday he was going to leave office, as had been widely expected, in a move that is set to trigger a wider reshuffle of the unpopular government.
Fabius, 69, told reporters Wednesday was his last participation in the government’s weekly cabinet meetings and that he expected the full reshuffle to be announced later this week.
“I will be leaving office,” Fabius said.
President Francois Hollande is expected to nominate Fabius on Wednesday to head the country’s top constitutional court.
The reshuffle is an opportunity for Hollande to re-shape his team ahead of the 2017 presidential elections.

Speculations are rife in France over who could join his re-jigged government, with Hollande’s former partner, Environment Minister Segolene Royal, or his previous prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, tipped as possible replacements for Fabius.
Fabius, who had been widely expected to change jobs since the end of last year, told reporters he was likely to start in his new job early March, after parliamentary committees rubber-stamp his nomination by Hollande.
The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France.