French premier Jean Castex resigns

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) – French Prime Minister Jean Castex resigned, the local media said on Monday.

Castex’s move is setting the stage for a Cabinet reshuffle as President Emmanuel Macron embarks on his second term, the state-run news broadcaster France 24 said.

Incumbent Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne, who previously served as a senior bureaucrat in the Socialist Party governments, could help counter the challenge mounted by hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon, who ranked third in the presidential election, it also said.

This would allow Macron to rally a broad coalition of France's left-leaning parties in the June 12-19 parliamentary vote, France 24 reported.