French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe handed his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, who accepted it, announced the Palais de l’Elysée. “A new Prime Minister will be appointed in the next few hours,” the Elysée said.
President Emmanuel Macron appointed senior civil servant Jean Castex as head of government. This choice was criticized by opposition leaders.
The resigned government will handle current affairs until the appointment of the new government, a change that Emmanuel Macron wished for, promising a “new team” for a “new path” for the last part of his term until the 2022 presidential election.
Jean Castex, a senior public servant, mayor of a small town, a man of record but not at all a prominent political figure, was appointed at mid-day, a few hours after the resignation of the government by Édouard Philippe.
Former collaborator of Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean Castex, 55, mayor of Prades, in the South West, has been the interministerial delegate responsible for deconfinement since April. “He is a complete and versatile senior civil servant who will be keen to reform the State and conduct a peaceful dialogue with the territories,” explained the Elysée.
Jean Castex, who has just been appointed Prime Minister, resigned from the Republicans in a letter received by the party on Friday July 3, confirmed Les Républicains.
The president of LR Christian Jacob had previously indicated that Jean Castex “had distanced himself from these last days”, and that “in fact, from the moment when he enrolled in the policy led by Emmanuel Macron, obviously he is more to Republicans. ” “As far as betrayals are concerned, we have already given,” he added.
Freshly appointed Prime Minister, Jean Castex arrived this Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Matignon, welcomed by his predecessor Édouard Philippe, without the traditional handshake due to the epidemic of coronavirus. The two men discussed important files in the office of the head of government for more than half an hour, before delivering their speech on the steps of Matignon.
“I am very happy to welcome you and pass the torch on to you,” said Edouard Philippe while speaking. For him, this post of Prime Minister is “an immense honor, a rather heavy load”. “But knowing your intelligence, your rather fine knowledge of the country, your political sense as your intellectual rigor, I have no doubt that you will be able to make the right decisions” underlined Edouard Philippe, speaking to Jean Castex.
“The three years that you have spent here leading government action will remain marked in the history of our country, launched Jean Castex. You were the head of government who had to face the most serious health crisis that affected our countries, Europe, the world, for many, many decades. ” The new Prime Minister, who worked under the orders of the former head of government, paid tribute to the work of Edouard Philippe: “I would simply here, publicly, testify to the commitment that has been yours, the constant concern to protect our fellow citizens, to explain the situation and the provisions that it required. You have always done so with the clarity and pedagogy that characterized each of your interventions “.
“During this warm and friendly meeting, the President thanked the Prime Minister for the work accomplished together for three years, in particular the important reforms carried out for the modernization of the country and the preservation of our social model”, continued the Presidency in its press release. She said that this work had been “done in common and with confidence, with perfect loyalty”.
According to Europe 1, the Elysée Palace has announced that Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe will continue to work together. “Edouard Philippe will help the President to politically structure the majority”, confides the presidency.
EN DIRECT | Cérémonie de passation de pouvoir à Matignon entre @EPhilippe_LH et @JeanCASTEX. https://t.co/4qLc5OZNwB
— Gouvernement (@gouvernementFR) July 3, 2020
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1vAxRrlvyvaxl
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