Macron names progressive technocrat as prime minister

Borne, 61, succeeds Jean Castex. His resignation was expected after Macron’s re-election. The new prime minister must lay the groundwork for Macron’s party’s victory in the parliamentary elections in June. She dedicated her historic appointment to all girls. “Go after your dreams,” said the new prime minister. “Nothing should stop the struggle for the place of women in our society.” According to the Christian French news portal Famille Chrétienne, it was not a surprise to see a woman enter the Hôtel Matignon, the prime minister’s workplace. It was just a question of whom.

According to a source at the Elysée Palace, the head of state has had the name of this “courageous” woman in mind since the evening of his re-election. According to the same source, the president sees her as having both a great “national culture” and knowledge of the business world. The only reason he waited so long to make his choice official was to give the country a “democratic breathing space”. This writes the French daily Le Monde.

However, Le Monde also writes that Borne, described as a technocrat, is already referred to as ‘Plan B’, B for Borne. A way of summarising the fact that her arrival represents a risk-free option, unlikely to arouse criticism, but also unlikely to inspire enthusiasm.

Burnout

Elisabeth Borne was born in Paris on 18 April 1961. Her French mother was a pharmacist, and her father was a Russian Jew who fled to France at the outset of the Second World War. Borne's parents ran a pharmaceutical laboratory after the war. According to the French news portal Linternaute, Borne's youth was not easy. She lost her father when she was eleven years old and grew up with her sister and her mother. She obtained an engineering degree, and in 1986, she joined the Collège des Ingénieurs. There, she obtained a Master of Business Administration.

Borne started to work as a government official at the French planning and works ministry in 1987. After various roles in both the public and the private sector, Borne became Minister of Transport in 2017. In July 2020, Borne was appointed minister of Labour, Employment and Economic Inclusion in the government of prime minister Jean Castex. In that role, she oversaw negotiations with unions that resulted in a cut to unemployment benefits for some job seekers. During her time in office, France’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years and youth unemployment to its lowest level in 40 years.

Borne, 61, was a long member of the social-democratic Parti socialiste, until she joined Macrons La République en Marche in 2017. It is not known what her views are on ethical subjects like abortion or euthanasia. The fact that Borne never held an elected position could be the reason for the lack of knowledge of her political views in this regard.

According to the Dutch daily NRC, Borne,– just like Macron – is known as a hard worker. In the past, she would even have been called Élisabeth Borne-out (after burnout) because of extremely long working days.