The decision was eagerly awaited after the presidential elections three weeks ago: French President Emmanuel Macron appointed politician Élisabeth Borne as prime minister on Monday evening. Previously, her predecessor Jean Castex, who had held the post since 2020, tendered his resignation.

Borne, 61, has been Labor Minister since July 2020. Previously, under Macron, she held the ministerial post for ecological and social transformation and the ministerial post for transport. For several weeks it had been expected that Macron would appoint a woman as prime minister, with Borne being considered a promising candidate.

According to many observers, Macron had taken an unusually long time to make the decision, although he had previously announced that he wanted to herald rapid change after his re-election on April 24.

Borne largely meets the requirements that Macron himself had named for his future head of government. For the post, he wants to choose a person who is committed to social and ecological issues and has an eye on productivity. During the election campaign, he also announced that Castex’s successor would be in charge of climate protection.

The new prime minister has the desired profile: she has long been close to the left-wing “parti socialiste” and, as a former minister for ecological and social transformation, is considered to have competences with regard to environmental protection. The first political test for the new head of government will be the parliamentary elections in June.