French President François Hollande on Wednesday appointed Myriam El Khomri as labour minister, opting for a candidate with limited experience of government to tackle his main challenge: stem the rise in unemployment before elections in 2017, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Hollande’s office announced the decision to appoint the 37 year old, who has served as junior minister for towns since August 2014, after François Rebsamen left the labor ministry to become mayor of Dijon.
Moroccan-born Ms. El Khomri will be the third labor minister since Mr. Hollande came to office in May 2012.
Over that period, unemployment has risen steadily to record levels, despite a stream of initiatives from state-sponsored jobs to sweeping tax cuts for employers to encourage hiring.
Ms. Khomri will shoulder a huge responsibility for Mr. Hollande as the Socialist president has said he won’t run for re-election in 2017 unless unemployment begins to fall.
The latest figures from Eurostat show unemployment in France rose edged up to 10.4% in July from 10.3%, despite declining in the eurozone as a whole.