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Élisabeth Borne takes over the leadership of the cabinet from predecessor Jean Castex
Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
France has a woman prime minister for the second time in its history.
President Emmanuel Macron has nominated the former Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne to succeed Prime Minister Jean Castex, the Elysée Palace said.
The 61-year-old left-leaning politician in President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party is one of the few who have been in his government team from the start.
Predecessor Castex had submitted his resignation in the late afternoon.
Borne had long been traded as the favorite for the successor, but the Elysee Palace only confirmed the personnel on Monday evening.
With Borne, a technocrat will head the cabinet in the future.
She is considered an expert in the field of pension reform, one of the major reform projects of Macron's second term.
Born in Paris, she graduated from an engineering college and worked for many years in various ministries as well as for the state railway SNCF and the Paris public transport company.
In 2017 she first became Associate Minister, then Minister for Ecological Transition in 2019 and Minister for Labor in 2020.
The first and only female prime minister was Edith Cresson, who took office in 1991 for just under a year.
Macron is expected to make numerous cabinet changes as well.
Macron wants to send signal before parliamentary elections
Shortly after his re-election on April 24, Macron had promised a government reshuffle.
He is not obliged to do so, but with a view to the upcoming parliamentary elections in June, he wanted to convey a new political start.
After the comparatively narrow victory against the extreme right-wing opponent Marine Le Pen, the president wants to achieve a broad parliamentary majority for his second term.
With Borne at the head of the cabinet, it could be easier for Macron and his allies to take votes from left-wing hardliner Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the forthcoming election.
Macron had already announced that he would choose a candidate with a green and socio-political profile as his successor.
fek/AFP/Reuters
