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| French PM Edouard Philippe resigns as Macron plans new team | French PM Edouard Philippe resigns as Macron plans new team |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has tendered his resignation after heading President Emmanuel Macron's government for three years. | French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has tendered his resignation after heading President Emmanuel Macron's government for three years. |
| Although Mr Philippe is considered more popular than the president, the ruling La République En Marche (Republic on the Move) had poor local election results at the weekend. | Although Mr Philippe is considered more popular than the president, the ruling La République En Marche (Republic on the Move) had poor local election results at the weekend. |
| Mr Philippe met the president and they agreed the government would resign. | Mr Philippe met the president and they agreed the government would resign. |
| President Macron promised a "new path" in an interview published on Friday. | President Macron promised a "new path" in an interview published on Friday. |
| A reshuffle has been expected for some time, and it is common practice for a French president to replace a prime minister during the five-year term in office known as the "quinquennat". | |
| The Elysée palace said in a statement that Edouard Philippe had "today handed in the government's resignation to the president of the republic, who accepted it", adding that he would stay in place until a new government was appointed. | |
| Why Macron is changing his team | |
| Mr Macron came to power three years ago but now faces an economic crisis after the coronavirus pandemic. | |
| In the interview with regional newspapers, he spoke of a "very tough" recovery for France, and focused on the immediate priority of saving jobs, as well as economic, social and environmental reconstruction. | |
| Mr Philippe's future as prime minister had been in doubt for several weeks and he won the mayoral election in Le Havre on Sunday. | Mr Philippe's future as prime minister had been in doubt for several weeks and he won the mayoral election in Le Havre on Sunday. |
| A new prime minister will be appointed in the coming hours, according to the AFP news agency, and theoretically Mr Philippe could be asked to stay in place. | |
| Mr Macron's young LREM party has struggled to maintain the initial support it won from voters after his presidential victory in 2017. Dogged by ministerial resignations, it has also seen a number of defections in the National Assembly, losing its outright majority in May. | |
| The party failed to win any major city in Sunday's local elections, in which Green candidates and their left-wing allies made significant gains. | |
| An opinion poll for Le Figaro and France Info on Thursday suggested three quarters of French voters were looking for political change from the president. | |
| Although many of those surveyed wanted greater focus on social and environmental change, 59% were happy for Mr Philippe to stay in his job. |