French President Emmanuel Macron names Elisabeth Borne as France's new prime minister

On Monday(May 16), French President Emmanuel Macron named Elisabeth Borne as the country's new prime minister.She is the first woman to lead the French government since 1992 and only the second woman to hold the office.

Following Macron's re-election last month, Borne succeeds Jean Castex, whose resignation paved the path for a cabinet reshuffle.

She will want to have a bigger impression than France's first female prime minister, Edith Cresson, who served under President Francois Mitterrand for less than a year before resigning amid a corruption scandal.

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At the transition of power ceremony, Castex called Borne "Madame la Premiere Ministre" with a broad smile, before warning:

"The role [of prime minister] is not exempted from public exposure and criticism, dear Elisabeth, people even say that's what it had been created for," Castex said of what the French often refer to as the "job from hell," working to implement plans on behalf of an ever-present president.

Borne's profile is likely to help Macron appeal to radical-left voters who supported Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round of the presidential election in April, while avoiding upsetting followers of Marine Le Pen on the right.

Her first responsibility would be to guide Macron's centrist coalition through the 2018 parliamentary election.

Despite her previous ties to the Socialist Party, Borne demonstrated her commitment to the president by serving as transport, environment, and eventually labour minister during his first term.

Unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 15 years under her control, and young unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 40 years.

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Macron's choice of Borne was criticized by some left-wing politicians and their supporters. Firebrand far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said her appointment marks "a new season of social and ecological mistreatment," claiming on Twitter that her legacy amounted to "a reduction in the allowances of 1 million unemployed people."

Borne's first mission will be to make sure that Macron's centrist party and its allies do well in France's parliamentary election in June. The vote, scheduled for two rounds, will determine which group holds the majority of seats at the National Assembly, which has the final say over the Senate in France's law-making process.

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