5 things to know about France’s new PM Jean Castex
Here are five things to know about France’s new head of government.
Castex carries the classic profile of a French high-level public servant, having attended the elite national school of public administration from which Macron also graduated alongside most of the top political class.
Castex was an adviser on social affairs in former French President Nicolas Sarkozy s cabinet, before becoming deputy secretary-general of the Elysée in , a key post that Macron himself occupied.
The new prime minister started his political career with conservative heavyweight Xavier Bertrand, first as his head of cabinet at the health ministry and later in the labor ministry in the s.
Castex had the difficult task of coordinating the easing of lockdown in France, which earned him the nickname Monsieur Déconfinement. He is considered to have performed well and reportedly won internal battles against government members with whom he didn t see eye-to-eye.
The new prime minister previously dealt with another major health crisis when he was working at the health ministry as chief of staff in .
“He is the one who put in place the pandemic plan during the avian flu crisis and the doctrine on state stockpiles of masks. In other words, he knows what he s talking about! his former boss Bertrand told Le Parisien.
Castex was first approached by Macron after the election in when the French president offered him the position of delegate to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Macron and Edouard Philippe, who Castex is replacing, also thought of him in to run the very sensitive interior ministry, Le Monde reported. But this proposal didn t have the support of Macron’s own party, who saw him as too close to Sarkozy and opposed his nomination.
According to Le Figaro, Castex left his conservative party Les Républicains last week.
Castex has qualities that were seen as missing in Philippe, including an ability to reach out across the political aisle.
Crucially, he reportedly has a good working relationship with leading French unions, whose relations with the Elysée have been tense since Macron put a controversial pension reform top of his agenda.
Former union leader Jean-Claude Mailly, of Force Ouvrière, once described Castex as “someone you can talk to, who is not big-headed.”
He s a real Swiss Army knife, he has connections everywhere and knows how to do the right thing in the right place, Franck Louvrier, Sarkozy s former adviser, told Le Point.
Still, the new prime minister and his predecessor have very similar profiles — they re both conservative politicians from the same generation, little known to a wider public before their nomination. That will undoubtedly raise questions about Macron s past pledges to nominate more diverse profiles say, a woman.<p>
Castex has a typical accent from southwestern France, where his grandfather also held official positions. A father of four daughters, he considers Catalan culture a significant influence in his life.
His father Claude was the president of a rugby club and Jean Castex often went to games when he was young. “He was a regular supporter. He was never a great sportsman, but when he was young he played a lot of tennis, his father told local newspaper Sud-Ouest in .
The politician also has a BA in history and published a book about the history of the railway line between Perpignan and Villefranche.
