The move paves the way for a cabinet reshuffle as President Emmanuel Macron looks to inject new energy into his presidency.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has resigned, the French presidency said, as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to announce a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle to inject new energy into his presidency.
“Today, Ms. Elisabeth Borne presented the government’s resignation to the President, who accepted it,” the president said in a statement on Monday.
Macron thanked Borne in a post on
Borne, who was appointed in May 2022, was only the second female prime minister in France's history. She will serve as administrator until a new government is appointed.
The president fueled speculation about a government reshuffle in December by promising a new policy initiative. This comes after 2023 was marked by political crises triggered by hotly contested reforms to the pension system and immigration laws.
The move comes just five months before the European Parliament elections. Eurosceptics are expected to make strong gains at a time of widespread public discontent over rising living costs and the difficulties European governments face in stemming migration flows.
Opinion polls show Macron's party trailing far-right leader Marine Le Pen by about eight to 10 points ahead of June's vote.
What next?
Potential candidates to replace Borne include 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal and 37-year-old Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, both of whom would become France's youngest-ever prime ministers.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and former Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie were also mentioned by experts as possible options.
The change in prime minister will not necessarily result in a change in policy direction, but rather will signal a desire to move beyond pensions and immigration reform and focus on new priorities, including achieving full employment.
Macron and his government, led by Borne, have struggled to cope with a more turbulent parliament in passing laws since losing their absolute majority shortly after Macron was re-elected to a second mandate in 2022.
The French president's advisers say he managed to pass the most difficult parts of his economic manifesto in the first year and a half of his second term despite lacking an absolute majority, and that future reforms, for example in the areas of education and euthanasia, would be more consensual.
But Macron's decision to use executive powers to push through a controversial increase in the retirement age to 64 last year sparked weeks of protests.
The reshuffle is likely to intensify the race in the Macron camp to succeed him in the next presidential election in 2027, with Le Maire, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and current Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin all seen as potential candidates.