French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne left her post on Monday. The presidential office did not provide any additional information about who will continue as the country’s prime minister after Borne.
Prime Minister of France Elisabeth Borne has resigned, says the president Emmanuel Macron office. According to the chancellery, Borne has submitted his resignation, which the president has accepted.
Borne will continue in his position until a new board is appointed. The presidential office did not provide any additional information about who will continue as the country’s prime minister after Borne.
The reason for Borne’s resignation is likely to be President Macron’s reorganization of the government in order to increase its popularity.
In France, the president’s powers in both foreign and domestic policy are broader than, for example, in many Central and Northern European countries.
Among other things, the president has the power to choose the prime minister. This can be used to apply for domestic political leverage.
The popularity of both President Macron and the governing parties has been on the decline. In 2022, Macron’s Ensemble! -coalition lost its majority position in the lower house of the parliament.
The year 2023 served up adversity after adversity for Macron and the governing parties.
The pension reform caused massive protests in the country and police violence caused riots that lasted for days. The reform of the immigration law, which was considered to be strictly right-wing, caused Macron’s own ranks to tear when the health minister resigned in protest of the law reform.
While the popularity of Macron and the government has fallen, the far-right National Rally and its party leader Jordan Bardella and leader of the parliamentary group Marine Le Pen have risen to the top of the popularity polls.
The year 2024 is the place of the screen for Macron. The European Parliament elections in May and the Summer Olympics in Paris are ahead.
Macron is now renewing his government so that the second presidential term can get a new boost.
Borne’s successor is a new minister of education Gabriel Attalia.
34-year-old Attalia would be France’s youngest ever prime minister and the first openly gay prime minister, Politico reported.
62-year-old Borne was elected Prime Minister of France in May 2022 as the second female Prime Minister in the country’s history. Borne belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party. He has also served as Minister of Labour, Minister of Transport and Minister of Ecological Transition.
On the messaging service X, Macron thanked Borne “for his work in the service of our nation, which has been exemplary every day”.
Source: Reuters, AFP, Politico