Who is new Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne?
While unknown to many outside of France. the new French Prime Minister selected by Emmanuel Macron is a long-term fixture of the political scene.
This was initially posted on The French Dispatch, a regular newsletter covering French, European, and global politics.
Three weeks after the re-election of French President Emmanuel Macron, we finally know the identity of our Prime Minister, and while she may not be as well-known outside of France, we’re here to fix that.
Élisabeth Borne, a veteran of the socialist political scene, first launched her career within the cabinet of Minister of National Education, Lionel Jospin, in 1991, acting as a technical advisor. She took a short break to work with traveling migrants, it wasn’t long before she re-joined Lionel Jospin in Matignon back in 1997, working with him over five years as the technical adviser in charge of transport.
With a career that was focused on transport, thanks in no small part to her incredibly strong knowledge of the sector, she became the Director of Strategy for SNCF, holding the post for 5 years.
In 2008, she became the director of urban planning for the city of palace, where she remained until 2013 when she because the prefect of Vienne and the overall region of Poitou-Charantes.
Following this, between 2014 and 2015 she was the private secretary to Ségolène Royal, who herself was minister of ecology, sustainable Development, and Energy under the Manuel Valls government.
Taking a break from politics for a period, Borne became the CEO of the RATP Group, taking the reins of the public transport enterprise that operates across the world, most notably in France and the UK.
In 2017, she joined the Édouard Philippe government to become the minister for Transport, and in July 2019, she was moved into the point of Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, replacing Francois de Rugy who had quit.
Within this role she highlighted why she was known as a minister who knew her portfolio well, handling the government energy-climate bill which announces the “ecological and climate emergency”, outlined plans for carbon neutrality, put in place the early measures for a reduction in energy consumption, and planned the closure of the last of the French coal-fired power station by 2022.
She was also one of the few ministers who succeeded in standing up to EDF, managing to get them onside for plans regarding new nuclear reactors, as well as the development of a diversified electricity mix.
She was then given a promotion in 2020, when she was moved up to the post of Minister of Labour, Employment and Economic Inclusion within the Jean Castex government.
One of the few critiques that have been aimed at her throughout her career is that she is not necessarily the political heavyweight that other ministers have been, but this is not necessarily the weakness many think.
If we look at the most recent and technocratic Castex government, we see something similar to our incoming Prime Minister: a safe pair of hands who have done their time, are known for their mastery of their briefs and industries, and who have what it takes to lead the French government.
And personally, dear reader, I think this is worth its weight in gold.
Thank you for reading this profile of the new French Prime Minister! If you liked what you read please don’t hesitate to subscribe by putting your email below:
And if you’d like to contribute a coffee or two to keep me going with covering the craziness of the French political world, feel free to click on the link below.:
