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France to unveil new government on Friday afternoon

The long-awaited new French government will be unveiled on Friday afternoon, the president's office has confirmed, four days after the announcement of Elisabeth Borne as the new Prime Minister.

Published: 20 May 2022 08:52 CEST
France to unveil new government on Friday afternoon
France's new Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will announce the new government on Friday afternoon. Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

After winning a second term as president on April 24th Emmanuel Macron was widely expected to announce a reshuffle of his government and a new PM.

However the announcement of Elisabeth Borne in the PM role – only the second female prime minister in France’s history – did not come until Monday, May 16th.

Technically it is up to the PM to form the government, although in practice the president is usually heavily involved.

READ ALSO What does a French prime minister actually do?

Speaking while on her first prime ministerial trip on Thursday, Borne said she and President Macron needed to “take their time to ensure the best team”.

Now the Elysée has said that the announcement will come on “Friday afternoon”.

There has been much speculation on who will be in the government, as Borne has the option of changing the roles of existing ministers and bringing in outsiders who are specialists or well-known in particular areas.

The first engagement of the new government will be a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday.

The most pressing task will be to win a majority for Macron’s LREM party in June’s parliamentary elections, which will allow the president to press on with the programme he has planned for his second term – including an ambitious restructuring of the country’s pension system.

READ ALSO French parliamentary elections – when do they happen and why are they important?

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POLITICS

Le Pen urges French to ‘inflict scathing electoral sanction’ on Macron

Leader of the hard-right Rassemblement National party Marine Le Pen called on the French on Wednesday to “inflict” on Emmanuel Macron “the most scathing electoral sanction” possible during the European election ballot on June 9th.

Published: 1 May 2024 16:01 CEST
Le Pen urges French to 'inflict scathing electoral sanction' on Macron

“We must counter them, we must sanction them, we must dismiss them,” said Le Pen, speaking from the podium of a major meeting of her party in Perpignan.

“We must give this power the most scathing electoral sanction that can be inflicted on it. And this sanction will be measured by the gap between the list led by [Rassemblement National president] Jordan Bardella and that of the Macronist deconstructors,” she added.

For now, Bardella’s Rassemblement National (RN) list is far ahead of Macron’s Renaissance list led by Valérie Hayer: 32 percent against 17 percent, according to an Ipsos survey published on Monday.

“This election of June 9 constitutes (…) a call for general mobilisation,” said Le Pen in her speech.

“No abstentions, but no dispersion either,” she said, warning voters who could be tempted by other candidates on the right, in particular that of Marion Maréchal (Reconquête) on the far right.

READ ALSO: How to register in France to vote in the 2024 European elections

“One day, one round, one vote: Bardella,” she added.

Speaking to over 2,000 activists gathered in the largest city led by the RN, Le Pen called on her troops not to “give in to intellectual terrorism” on the subject of the European Union.

“We are right to be critical. We are right to want something different for Europe and for France and for ourselves,” she said, admitting to wanting to “say no” on certain themes, such as “migratory submersion”, “the destruction of our economy in the name of ecological decline” or the “technocratic government of Brussels or elsewhere”.

France goes to vote on June 9th to elect 81 members (nearly one seventh of the total) of the European Parliament.

READ ALSO: OPINION: A European disaster for Macron could lead to messy autumn elections in France

Jordan Bardella tops the National Rally’s list, Marion Maréchal is leading Eric Zemmour’s Reconquête list, Valérie Hayer is leading the European elections campaign for Macron’s Renaissance party and Raphael Glucksmann is the lead candidate for the Socialists.

Recent polls point to support in the high teens for Macron’s centrist party, well below the far-right National Rally at around 30 percent, while the Socialists are snapping at the presidential camp’s heels for second place.

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