Macron names Jean Castex as new French Prime Minister

French President Emmanuel Macron has named Jean Castex as the country’s new prime minister, following the resignation of Edouard Philippe.

Castex is the mayor of Prades, a town in the Pyrenees, and has been overseeing the exit from France’s coronavirus lockdown.

A full government reshuffle is expected later.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe handed in his and his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Friday morning, and it was accepted, the Elysée announced earlier.

Macron is reshaping his government as France grapples with the deepest economic depression since World War Two, a sharp downturn that will shrink the economy by about 11% in 2020 and reverse hard-fought gains on unemployment.

Investors will be watching to see if Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who has overseen reforms to liberalise the economy and spent big to keep companies like Air France and Renault afloat during the crisis, keeps his job.

“The return from summer holidays will be difficult, we must get ready,” Macron told regional newspapers in an interview published late on Thursday.

Macron’s office said a replacement for Philippe would be named within hours. A source familiar with Macron’s thinking said the president would not reappoint his prime minister, as can sometimes happen in French reshuffles.

Questions over Philippe’s job have swirled since mid-June when Macron, whose term has less than two years to run, declared he wanted to recast his presidency as France emerges from the coronavirus crisis.

“A new phase begins with new talents and new ways of running government,” an Elysee official told Reuters.

Macron and Philippe dined together on Wednesday and met on Thursday. The Elysee source described Thursday’s discussions as warm and friendly. Both men agreed on “the need for a new government to embody the next phase, a new path,” the aide said.

Macron had last month stated his desire to start afresh as France embarks on a delicate and costly recovery from its coronavirus slump. Then came his party’s dire showing in nationwide municipal elections on June 28.

The local elections revealed surging support for the Green party and underlined Macron’s troubles with left-leaning voters. His La Republique en Marche party failed to win a single major city, depriving the president of a local power base ahead of 2022.