Published on 09-Jul-2020
Khushboo Razdan
Jean Castex – a backdoor strategist who's just been pushed into the spotlight. France's new government under Castex was announced on Monday in a major reshuffle by President Emmanuel Macron, who had recently expressed his intentions to "reinvent his presidency" and "set out a new path."
Experts say the move marks a new beginning in Macron's presidency, keeping his 2022 reelection bid in mind.
"Now it's time to open a new chapter, which is going to be all about how to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus lockdown. So, it does make sense to have a fresh team so that all the economic and social issues are tackled," Ariane Basthard-Bogain, senior lecturer in French and politics at Northumbria University, told CGTN Digital.
"With little bit under two years to run for presidency again, Macron now needed a new prime minister to give the last two years of his presidency a boost and prepare the way for running for reelection in 2022," said Dr. Paul Smith, associate professor in French and Francophone Studies at the University of Nottingham, while speaking to CGTN Digital.
The decision to sack a popular conservative PM Edouard Philippe was being whispered in the corridors of the Élysée Palace for weeks. The reasons were manifold – Macron's plunging approval ratings, a humiliating defeat in municipal polls at the hands of the Greens and 17 of his lawmakers from a left-wing faction breaking ranks to form a new parliamentary group, Ecology.