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French government 'to remain in place until May 13'

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French government 'to remain in place until May 13'
France's Prime Minister Jean Castex will remain in place for now. Photo by bertrand GUAY / AFP

The current French government and Prime Minister will remain in place until next week, the government spokesman has announced.

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When president Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second term it was announced that his Prime Minister Jean Castex would resign and formally dissolve the government, allowing Macron to perform a reshuffle of his ministers and appoint a new PM. 

Since Macron's re-election on April 24th there has been ongoing speculation on the date of Castex's resignation, along with guessing games on the identity of the new PM and who will serve in the new Macron government.

READ ALSO What does a French prime minister actually do?

However on Wednesday, government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced that Castex "will remain in place until the end of the first term".

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Macron's first term officially expires on May 13th, although he has having his second inauguration on Saturday, May 7th.

Attal, speaking at his weekly press conference, told journalists: "The government is at work on a number of issues . . . The Castex government will remain in place until the end of the first Macron term".

Re-elected presidents are not obliged to change their government, but it often happens. 

Although he won a comfortable victory in the presidential election, beating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen by 58.55 percent to 41.45 percent, Macron now faces a further battle in the parliamentary elections to ensure that he has a majority in the French parliament. 

READ ALSO French parliamentary elections - why are they important?

Convention dictates that the president does not get involved in elections, so it has been widely predicted that Macron will appoint a PM who will focus on fighting the parliamentary elections, which will be held in June. 

Political parties on the left have been negotiating a 'left alliance' aimed at securing a majority of leftist MPs in parliament. 

EXPLAINED What is France's 'left alliance' and will it work?

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