Paris (AFP)

The government of Edouard Philippe resigned on Friday morning and a "new Prime Minister" will be appointed during the day for the continuation of the five-year term of Emmanuel Macron, resolved to take "a new path".

"Mr. Edouard Philippe today handed in the resignation of the government to the President of the Republic, who accepted it. He ensures, with the members of the government, the handling of current affairs until the appointment of the new government", a said a short press release from the presidency.

The Elysee Palace then announced to AFP that a "new Prime Minister will be appointed in the coming hours", without specifying whether this formula announced the departure of Edouard Philippe. "A new stage opens with new talents and new methods of government," added the presidency.

Those close to Edouard Philippe seem convinced of his departure. Gilles Boyer, one of his very close friends, tweeted: "proud of the 1145 days of EPhilippePM in Matignon and thanks to @EmmanuelMacron for trusting him!"

In Matignon, Edouard Philippe, in a white shirt without jacket or tie, was seen smiling with members of his cabinet, accompanied by the camera of his friend Laurent Cibien who was shooting a documentary about him.

Following the resignation of the government, the Council of Ministers, scheduled for Friday morning, will not be held. The composition of the new government should be known before Wednesday, the scheduled date of the next cabinet, according to the president's entourage.

During an interview Thursday, "the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister established a shared finding as to the need for a new government to embody a new stage of the quinquennium, a new path", explained the Elysée .

"During this warm and friendly meeting, the President thanked the Prime Minister for the work accomplished over the past three years, in particular the important reforms carried out for the modernization of the country and the preservation of our social model", added the Presidency . She said that this work had been "done in common and with confidence, with perfect loyalty".

- "New stage" -

The new government will "implement the new stage of the five-year term, the social, economic, environmental and local reconstruction project, the president of which outlined the main guidelines during his speech on June 14 and which became clearer during the cycle. extensive consultations conducted in recent weeks, "said the Elysee.

When the government resigned, all ministerial activity was immediately halted. At the Assembly, where the third draft revised budget was being examined, the meeting was suspended. Due to the resignation of the government, "we are going to interrupt our work", indicated the chairman of the session Hugues Renson (LREM), while the secretary of state Cédric O was present.

To replace Edouard Philippe, whose popularity soared during the coronavirus crisis, those close to the president cited in recent days the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, or Jean Castex, Mister deconfinement of the government.

In an interview with the regional daily press Thursday evening, Emmanuel Macron praised the "unique relationship of trust" he had with his Prime Minister, in place since the start of the five-year term, re-elected last Sunday at the town hall of Le Havre.

"For three years by my side, he has been carrying out remarkable work with successive governments," underlined the head of state in a sustained tribute. "We have carried out important, historic reforms, often in very difficult circumstances. We have a relationship of trust which is from a certain point of view unique on the scale of the Fifth Republic," he added.

On the political level, Emmanuel Macron had reaffirmed in April, at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic, wanting to "reinvent itself" but without "denying" the reforms of the start of the quinquennium.

"The course on which I embarked on in 2017 remains true," he reaffirmed Thursday in an interview. The next government will be responsible for implementing the "new path" that Emmanuel Macron began to design, with a priority on health policy, old age and a plan for youth. A change that promises to continue with notably the resumption of construction of the pension reform.

Since the start of the five-year term, Edouard Philippe has always been reappointed, but in total 17 ministers have left the government, including 13 who have resigned, the most recent being Agnès Buzyn.

© 2020 AFP