After the presidential election in France: Prime Minister Castex resigns as expected

French Prime Minister Castex resigns after President Macron is re-elected. The move is common in France after a presidential election. The previous Labor Minister, Elisabeth Borne, will be his successor.

As expected, French Prime Minister Jean Castex has handed in his resignation. This was announced by the Élysée Palace. The step is considered a formality in France after a presidential election. But it comes surprisingly late, a good three weeks after the vote. According to the announcement, President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation. Macron appointed the previous Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne as his successor.

Castex was appointed prime minister two years ago – a surprise to many. Back then, as the long-serving mayor of a small Pyrenean village and former employee of ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, hardly anyone in France knew him. Castex should lead the country out of the pandemic in the spirit of Macron, without overtaking the president in popularity.

Mocked, but also popular

Many people in the country describe the outgoing prime minister as not very charismatic, even after two years in office. He is a popular object for more or less charming mockery of the media – Castex offers plenty of opportunities for attack: Be it his hard southern French accent, which he does not try to hide, or his burning passion for railways, which earned him the nickname “Conductor of Horrors”.

His tenure was dominated by the corona pandemic. Among other things, he had to send people in the country into lockdown and impose other massive restrictions on their everyday lives. Despite this, his popularity ratings have remained consistently good. Also because Castex traveled a lot in the country.

Loyal to the president, he skilfully managed the country for the two years – that’s exactly why Macron hired the technocrat from the moderately conservative camp. However, the prime minister was not able to put his own stamp on French politics at this time.

Borne only the second woman in this office

Together with Castex, the entire government has now submitted its resignation. This allows the re-elected President to put together a new cabinet.

Elisabeth Borne is only the second time in the history of the republic that a woman has become prime minister. Borne is to be officially inaugurated tonight. The first head of government was Edith Cresson, who came into office in 1991 for just under a year.

Shortly after his re-election on April 24, Macron 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.