The French Prime Minister resigns pending a cabinet reshuffle

France’s Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne resigned on Monday, ahead of a widely expected cabinet reshuffle by President Emmanuel Macron, as he tries to inject new energy into his presidency at the start of a year of major events in France, including the elections for the European Parliament and the summer. Olympic Games in Paris.

Ms Borne, 62, was appointed prime minister shortly after Macron’s election for a second term in May 2022, becoming only the second woman to hold that position.

But her term in office has been marked by political and social unrest – from anger on the streets and in parliament over raising the retirement age to riots over the police shooting of a teenager – and Macron appeared increasingly keen to appoint a new face .

Macron’s office said he had accepted Ms Borne’s resignation offer, little more than a formality given his widely reported desire to replace her. Ms. Borne will continue to handle “ongoing matters” until a new cabinet is appointed, the office said in a statement, without saying when that might happen or who might replace her.

“You carried out our project with the courage, dedication and determination of stateswomen,”said Mr. Macron. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Prime ministers play an important role in France. below the ConstitutionIt is through their leadership that the government “sets and implements the nation’s policies,” and they oversee much of the country’s day-to-day management.

But presidents hold a much more powerful office, and the government’s agenda is usually theirs. France’s presidents are directly elected every five years by popular vote, and they often view their prime ministers as close associates or subordinates, rather than autonomous policymakers.

Ms. Borne, a hard-working technocrat and daughter of an Auschwitz survivor who rarely spoke about her personal life, loyally and dutifully implemented Mr. Macron’s agenda. From May 1991 to April 1992, she worked for twenty months, twice as long as Édith Cresson, the only other woman to hold this position, and shepherded dozens of Macron’s bills through parliament.

But Ms Borne was forced to work with a fractured lower house, where Macron’s centrist alliance does not command an outright majority, causing serious headaches for his policy ambitions.

Ms. Borne was nicknamed “Madame 49.3” in the French media, referring to the constitutional tool she used more than 20 times during her time in office to pass bills in the lower house without a vote – mainly budget measures, but especially a widely unpopular pension reform.

More recently, Ms. Borne had to compromise with the right over a tough immigration law that rankled some in Macron’s own government and prompted one minister to resign.