Meet Elisabeth Borne, France’s new prime minister

In 2022 it ought to be unremarkable for a woman to be appointed to run a European government. Yet the nomination on May 16th of Elisabeth Borne as prime minister of France was anything but. It is the first time in 30 years that a woman has held the post, and only the second time ever. The previous one, Edith Cresson, appointed by François Mitterrand, did not last a year in the job. As Ms Borne took over from Jean Castex on the evening of her nomination, she dedicated her appointment to “all the little girls” in France, telling them to “follow your dreams”.

Such folksy utterances are atypical of Ms Borne. An engineer by training, and a career technocrat, the 61-year-old is better known as a no-nonsense details person who gets on with the job. Ahead of France’s parliamentary elections on June 12th and 19th, her immediate task will be to help win another majority for the centrist grouping led by President Emmanuel Macron, and to draw up plans to ease the soaring cost of living. An even trickier challenge will be to negotiate the pension reform that Mr Macron has promised for his second term, including a controversial rise in the pension age from 62 to 64 or 65.