Paris CNN —France’s finance minister is in the spotlight. “It is about music, my passion for music,” Le Maire insisted of the novel, whose central character is a piano virtuoso. Some in France chastized the finance minister for devoting time to writing, especially as the country weathers economic headwinds. The French finance ministry confirmed to CNN that Le Maire had warned the French presidency of the book before its release. And the finance minister seemed unabashed on Twitter.

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