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Minister
Paris, May 15, 2017 (dpa/NAN) France’s new President, Emmanuel Macron, was Monday due to announce the name of his prime minister before leaving for an official visit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the evening.
There was no clear indication as to the identity of the likely nominee, although French media speculated that the centre-right mayor of Le Havre, Edouard Philippe, would be appointed.
The nominee’s future will, however, depend on the outcome of June’s parliamentary elections, as the prime minister needs to have the backing of parliament.
Centrist Macron was formally inaugurated as president on Sunday, a week after his massive election win over far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
His Berlin visit will be his first foreign engagement.
Macron, a strong pro-European, is hoping that his economic reform programme can strengthen France’s position at the European table and rebalance the Paris-Berlin alliance that has long been at the heart of the bloc’s politics. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Grace Yussuf