PARIS—Socialist President François Hollande may have minimized the risk of rebellion inside his administration by naming the architect of his pro-business platform as economy minister.

But the appointment of former Rothschild banker Emmanuel Macron to succeed the outspoken Arnaud Montebourg sparked furious reactions Wednesday by many Socialist lawmakers already angered by what they regard as Mr. Hollande's rightward drift.

Mr. Macron, who advised Mr. Hollande on economic policies from before his election in May 2012 until last month, has the ear of many French and foreign business leaders. He makes no mystery of his free-market preference over the Socialist rule book.

The mild-mannered 36-year-old minister is a sharp contrast to Mr. Montebourg, who portrayed himself as a custodian of France's economic nationalism while in office. He was let go on Monday after publicly blaming the president for choking the French economy with a set of spending cuts.

The new minister sought to defuse tension with the left side of the ruling party. "The press has crowned me with a reputation, but judge me on my words and deeds," he said at a handover ceremony with Mr. Montebourg.

But Socialist lawmakers who back Mr. Montebourg's criticism didn't display a conciliatory mood after Mr. Macron was placed at the helm of one of the state's main instruments of economic intervention.

"The free-market Macron to replace Montebourg = ridiculous provocation," Laurent Baumel, as leading dissident Socialist lawmaker, said on social-media network Twitter. TWTR -0.23%



A divisive figure among Socialists, Mr. Macron risks becoming a source of repeated clashes between the president and elements of his ruling coalition ahead of important budget votes.

Mr. Macron got a master's degree in philosophy before attending the École Nationale d'Administration, which has trained much of France's governmental elite, including Mr. Hollande. After a brief stint as a civil servant, in 2008 he joined the Rothschild bank in Paris, where he worked on several large takeover deals.

While still at the investment bank, the avid piano player started advising Mr. Hollande, who in 2011 emerged as the surprise winner of the Socialist primaries.

During the presidential campaign, Mr. Hollande made pledges, dear to leftist voters, to protect the middle class and tame the financial industry, which he described as his enemy. But less publicly, Mr. Hollande dispatched Mr. Macron to convince financial investors that the Socialist candidate was at heart a social democrat who would adhere to fiscal discipline.

After Mr. Hollande's election in May 2012, Mr. Macron was appointed deputy chief of staff at the Élysée presidential palace. He helped craft a program aimed at supporting French business through a series of tax cuts, which dissident Socialist immediately railed against as a "gift to business." Mr. Macron resigned from that post last month but assured the president he was ready to come back should his service be needed.

French business leaders welcomed Mr. Macron's new appointment as economy minister but said they would judge him on facts.

"In this country we've too often heard marvelous political speeches that are followed by nonsensical action," Pierre Gattaz, the head of France's largest business lobby, said on radio station RTL. RTL.BT -0.86%

As Mr. Macron negotiates a path between the opposing forces in French politics and business, he said he would continue to follow a guiding principle expressed by Oscar Wilde : "Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."

By William Horobin

Source: wsj.com