Elisabeth Borne picked as France’s new PM
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday picked Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne as his new prime minister, making her the second woman to hold the post in the country and first since 1992, as he prepares for legislative elections in June.
Borne spoke soon after her appointment, noting the emotions she felt at being selected for the highest office a woman has ever held in French political leadership.
“I would like to dedicate this nomination to all the little girls by telling them ‘Go after your dreams!’ Nothing should stop the fight for the place of women in our society,” she said in her inauguration speech.
Recently reelected Macron, who needs to show he has heard the frustrations of voters expressed by low turnout and big support for the far right and far left, has been looking for a premier with green and social policy credentials.
Such a profile could help counter the challenge mounted by hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon who achieved a strong third place in the presidential election, giving him the opportunity to rally a broad coalition of left-leaning parties in the June 12-19 parliamentary vote.
In a brief inaugural address, Borne said that the country needed to act “faster and stronger” to fight climate change and pledged to further work to protect the French’s purchasing power, the No. 1 voter concern according to polls.
Borne, 61, is the first woman named as prime minister since Edith Cresson, who briefly occupied the office in 1991-1992 during the presidency of Socialist leader Francois Mitterrand.
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