French president reappoints Édouard Philippe as PM after legislative vote

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday reappointed Edouard Philippe as prime minister after the weekend's legislative run-off vote and asked him to form the next government, sources at Macron's office said.

Sunday's vote saw Macron's centrist group, the Republic on the Move (REM), secure a massive victory in the National Assembly, giving him a mandate to pursue a pro-EU, business-friendly agenda.

Philippe has been asked to unveil the new government by Wednesday 1600 GMT, the sources said.

Macron, 39, became France's youngest president in May after a tumultuous campaign in which the mainstream left and conservative parties lost ground and the far-right National Front failed to make a much-touted breakthrough.

Macron's election was followed, as scheduled, by legislative elections.

REM and its centrist ally MoDem won 350 seats in the 577-seat assembly. The conservative opposition, the Republicans, won a total of 130 seats with their allies.

The Socialist Party party of Macron's predecessor, Francois Hollande, lost more than 250 seats, obtaining just 30.

(AFP)

Date created : 2017-06-19