French Prime Minister Borne Resigns, Macro appoints New Government

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to give a new impetus to his second mandate before the European Parliament elections and the Paris Olympics this summer.

Macro did not immediately appoint Borne's successor. The change in the prime minister post comes after a year damaged by political crises caused by controversial pension system reforms and immigration laws.

It also comes just five months before the European Parliament elections, with Eurosceptics expected to make record profits at a time of widespread public discontent for increasing living costs and the failure of European governments to curb migration flows.

In France, polls show the Macron party is behind the far-right leader Marine Le Pen with about eight to ten points ahead of the June vote.

Speculations of a government reshuffle had been widespread in the weeks since close approval in parliament of the strict immigration rules exposed deep cracks in most of Macro. Macron himself promised a new political initiative.

As those cited as potential candidates to replace Borne are 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal, and 37-year-old Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, each of whom would be France's newest prime minister.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Muire, and former Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie, are also mentioned by experts as possible options. The change of prime minister will not necessarily lead to a policy shift, but rather signal a desire to go beyond pension and immigration reforms and focus on new priorities, including achieving full employment, Reuters writes, broadcast Klakosova.tv.