France’s Macron reappoints Edouard Philippe as PM after Sunday’s vote

Edouard Philippe has been asked to unveil the new government by Wednesday.

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.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attends a news conference to unveil the government's labour reforms, in Paris, France. (Reuters File Photo)

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.