As far as his party and some commentators are concerned, Emmanuel Macron sent a “signal to the Left” this week by appointing Élisabeth Borne as France's new prime minister. It is a sleight of hand that would be laughable if it did not also highlight how the head of state is continuing his attempts to deconstruct the French political arena, argues Mediapart political reporter Ellen Salvi in this opinion article.
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.
Élisabeth Borne, 61, was on Monday appointed by Emmanuel Macron as his new prime minister, replacing Jean Castex under who she served for two years as labour minister and becoming France's second-ever head of government after Édith Cresson, in office between 1991 and 1992.
Transport minister replaces de Rugy who quit after a week of reports by Mediapart about his high spending on private dinners and renovations of his ministerial residence.
French transport minister Élisabeth Borne said a draft law on mobility is now being vetted by the state council and will be presented to parliament next month which allows for cities to introduce urban tolls on vehicle traffic and to set limits on how much these would cost.
Following a call by the principal French railworkers' unions for twice-weekly rolling strikes over three months from April, in protest at plans to open up part of the state-run network to private competition and changes to workers' employment conditions, transport minister Elisabeth Borne on Friday urged further negotiations, hinting at a possible delay of the liberalisation reforms.
