French PM resigns ahead of Macron reshuffle after election trouncing
French prime minister Edouard Philippe has this morning resigned ahead of a government reshuffle by president Emmanuel Macron.
The Elysee palace said that a new prime minister would be named within the hours.
It added that Philippe would continue to manage government affairs until a new cabinet had been named.
Doubts had arisen over Philippe’s future after Macron said last month that he wanted to “reinvent” his presidency.
It is customary in French cabinet reshuffles for the prime minister to resign first before new appointments are made, and there is nothing to stop Philippe from being returned to the role.
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Philippe, who has served as prime minister since 2017, was one of the few success stories in France’s recent municipal elections.
While a surge in support for the Green party showed Macron’s shortage of support from left-wing voters, Philippe was victorious in the port city of Le Havre, of which he used to be mayor.
According to close advisers, Macron is looking to revamp his centrist En Marche party to become more appealing to the left.
Last night the president told regional media that the final phase of his tenure would have a new team.
“The new phase entails new goals of independence, reconstruction, reconciliation and new methods. Behind that there will be a new team,” Macron told La Montagne newspaper.
He said that he would be targeting pension reform in his final two years in office.