Emmanuel Macron has fired his prime minister Elisabeth Borne, the country’s longest-serving female in the top government post, in a bid to kick-start his stuttering French presidency.

Suspense had been mounting over a potential reshuffle over the weekend, with Mr Macron desperate to breathe new life into the remaining three years of his second five-year term.

Since he defeated nationalist opponent Marine Le Pen in 2022, the French president has faced protests over unpopular pension reforms, the loss of his absolute majority in parliamentary elections and controversy over immigration legislation.

Ms Borne, 62, a dry, Left-leaning technocrat once dubbed “Macron’s Iron Lady” by Paris Match, survived all these trials but doubts persisted about her future. Her successor could be announced as early as Monday night.

Francois Bayrou, a key Macron ally and leader of the centrist MoDem party, told BFM TV a change in government make up was “necessary”.

Mr Macron thanked Ms Borne for her “exemplary” work. 

She said that it was “more necessary than ever” to push ahead with reforms.

The names of three potential male replacements emerged on Monday.

The first two are Sebastien Lecornu, the 37-year-old armed forces minister and Julien Denormandie, the 43-year-old former agriculture minister.

However, on Monday, intense speculation has focussed on Gabriel Attal, 34, Mr Macron’s current education minister, who is now in pole position.

If he does take the top job, he will become France’s youngest-ever prime minister and its first openly gay government chief.

Under the French system, the president sets general policies and the prime minister is responsible for day-to-day government management and is widely seen as his “airbag and lightning conductor” when the political chips are down.

There had been speculation the reshuffle would be announced late last week. But no news emerged over the weekend with Mr Macron – often dubbed “the master of the clocks” for his propensity to put off such decisions – reportedly weighing his options in seclusion at his residence of La Lanterne in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

‘Keeping all options open’

The president likes “keeping all options open until the last moment”, said a source close to the Elysee.

Gerald Darmanin, 41, the interior minister and a Right-winger who spearheaded the immigration reform but burned his fingers when it was initially rejected by parliament, has been potentially tipped for the foreign ministry but may retain his post.

The future of Catherine Colonna, the foreign minister, has also been the subject of speculation.

Bruno Le Maire, the only senior minister to be in office since Macron’s election in 2017, is expected to keep his post as France’s longest serving finance minister.

Ms Borne was the third prime minister since 2017 under Mr Macron who is accused by critics of running a “Jupiterian” presidency in which he calls all the shots from the Elysee.

“I have a scoop for you. I know the name of the (new) prime minister,” Raphael Glucksmann, the Left-wing politician, joked on France 2 television.

“It’s Emmanuel Macron! And the foreign minister will also be Emmanuel Macron, as will the defence minister and the culture minister.”