Élisabeth Borne was on Monday named as France’s new prime minister, replacing Jean Castex under who she served for the last two years as labour minister. Borne, 61, is the second-ever woman to lead a French government, after Édith Cresson who was briefly in office 30 years ago. The future of Borne and her government now hangs on the results of legislative elections to be held next month, when it remains to be seen whether Macron’s Renaissance party can maintain a working majority in parliament. Dan Israel and Ilyes Ramdani analyse Borne’s track record, and the challenges she now faces.
It was in a simple, 20-word statement late Monday afternoon that the French presidential office, the Élysée Palace, announced the appointment of Élisabeth Borne as Emmanuel Macron's new prime minister, his third in a row and the first under his new five-year term in office. Borne's first task is that of forming her new government, whose members will be announced later this week.
