French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tendered her resignation on Monday as President Emmanuel Macron gears up to introduce a long-awaited cabinet restructuring, aiming to invigorate the final phase of his presidency.
Following discreet political maneuvering behind the scenes, Education Minister Gabriel Attal, aged 34, appears to be a leading contender to fill Borne’s shoes. However, the official announcement of her successor is yet to be made.
Should Attal be appointed, he would become France’s youngest and the first openly gay prime minister.
“Ms Elisabeth Borne today submitted the resignation of the government to the president, who accepted it,” stated the presidency in a formal announcement.
Observers view this reshuffle as a crucial step to reenergize Macron’s centrist leadership for the remaining three years, preventing him from becoming an inactive leader amid a series of crises.
Macron has grappled with protests against contentious pension reforms, the loss of his parliamentary majority, and controversies surrounding immigration legislation since securing a second term in 2022 by defeating the far right.
Borne, 62, the second female head of the French government, navigated these challenges but failed to dispel uncertainties about her future.
In a statement on X, Macron acknowledged Borne’s “work in the service of our nation that has been exemplary every day”, although he did not explicitly reference her resignation.
Besides Attal, potential successors to Borne include 37-year-old Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and 43-year-old former agriculture minister Julien Denormandie.
