France: Ms. Elizabeth Borne, the prime minister of France, has resigned as Mr. Emmanuel Macron, France’s President, gets ready to announce a much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in an effort to renew his presidency.
“Ms. Elisabeth Borne today submitted the resignation of the government to the president, who accepted it,” the French presidency said in a statement.
In a post on X, Mr. Macron expressed gratitude to Borne for “work in the service of our nation that has been exemplary every day.”
Ms. Borne became only the second female prime minister in French history when she was appointed in May 2022. Until a new government is chosen, she will serve as a caretaker.
In December, the president stoked rumours of a possible government shake-up by announcing a fresh political project. This followed the political crises that 2023 saw on either side of it, brought on by hotly debated changes to the immigration and pension systems.
The move comes just five months before elections to the European Parliament, where euroskepticism is predicted to gain significant ground amid growing public unhappiness with rising living expenses and the challenges European governments face in reducing immigration.
Before the June election, opinion polls indicated that Mr. Macron’s party was currently eight to ten points behind that of far-right leader Ms. Marine Le Pen.
The 34-year-old Mr. Gabriel Attal, the minister of education, and the 37-year-old Mr. Sebastien Lecornu, the minister of defence, are mentioned as possible successors to Ms. Borne. If chosen, either of them would become the youngest prime minister in French history.
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