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Élisabeth Borne

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Élisabeth Borne
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the National Assembly
for Calvados's 6th constituency
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 February 2024
Preceded byFreddy Sertin
In office
22 June 2022 – 22 July 2022
Preceded byAlain Tourret
Succeeded byFreddy Sertin
Prime Minister of France
In office
16 May 2022 – 9 January 2024
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byJean Castex
Succeeded byGabriel Attal
Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration
In office
6 July 2020 – 16 May 2022
Prime MinisterJean Castex
Preceded byMuriel Pénicaud
Succeeded byOlivier Dussopt
Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition
In office
16 July 2019 – 6 July 2020
Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe
Preceded byFrançois de Rugy
Succeeded byBarbara Pompili
President of RATP
In office
21 May 2015 – 17 May 2017
Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe
Preceded byPierre Mongin
Succeeded byCatherine Guillouard
Prefect of Vienne
In office
1 February 2013 – 23 April 2014
Preceded byYves Dassonville
Succeeded byChristiane Barret
Personal details
Born
Élisabeth Borne

(1961-04-18) 18 April 1961 (age 63)
Paris, France
Political partyRenaissance (2017–present)
Other political
affiliations		Territories of Progress (2020–2022)
Spouse
Olivier Allix
​
​
(m. 1989; div. 2008)​
Children1
EducationÉcole Polytechnique
École des ponts ParisTech
Collège des Ingénieurs
Signature

Élisabeth Borne (French pronunciation: [elizabɛt bɔʁn]; born 18 April 1961) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2022 to 2024. She is a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party Renaissance. Borne is the second woman to hold the position of Prime Minister after Édith Cresson, who served from 1991 to 1992.[1]

A civil engineer, government official and manager of state enterprises in the transport and construction sectors, Borne previously served as minister of transport (2017–2019) and minister of ecology (2019–2020). She was then minister of labour, employment and integration in the Castex government from 2020 to 2022.[2] On 16 May 2022, President Macron appointed her as the next prime minister after Castex's resignation, as it is the tradition following the presidential elections in France.[3]

Borne led the centrist Ensemble coalition into the 2022 legislative election which resulted in a hung parliament: enjoying a 115-seat majority before the election, the ruling coalition was reduced to 251 seats (from 346), still emerging as the largest bloc in Parliament but 38 short of a majority. Unable to broker any deal with opposition parties to form a stable majority administration, Borne officially formed a minority government in July 2022.

Notably, as prime minister, she oversaw the contentious passage of a pension system reform raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, the repealing of most of the Covid-era health restrictions and the passage of a multi-year military planning law, paving way for a 40%-increase in military spending between 2024 and 2030. She also led the government's financial response to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

In July 2023, holding onto her position as PM amid media reports of a possible dismissal, Borne reshuffled her cabinet for the second time since the beginning of her Premiership.

On 8 January 2024, at Macron's request, Borne resigned as prime minister amid a major government crisis triggered by the passage of a hardline immigration bill. On her departure, she announced her intention to return as an MP for her Calvados's constituency.

Early life and education

Elisabeth Borne was born in Paris.[4] Her French-born mother, Marguerite Lecèsne (1920–2015), was a pharmacist. Her father, Joseph Bornstein (1924–1972), son of Zelig Bornstein from Łuków (formerly Congress Poland),[5] was born in Antwerp, Belgium.[6] He fled to France at the outset of the Second World War and was active in the French Resistance.[7] Bornstein was one of four brothers. In 1943, he was arrested by the Gestapo in Grenoble, where he was part of the French resistance and deported to Auschwitz German concentration camp. His father and younger brother were sent to the German gas chambers. Joseph and his older brother were kept alive to work in a synthetic fuel factory.

In April 1945, they met Borne's mother, Marguerite Lescène, at the platform of Paris's Orsay train station where she was helping deportees. She took the brothers to her hometown in Normandy where her family helped them rebuild their lives. Joseph Bornstein later published descriptions of the horrors he had witnessed in the Holocaust.[8] He was naturalised in 1950 and changed the family name to "Borne".[5][7] Borne's mother ran a pharmaceutical laboratory after the war.[9] Her father ran a rubber products factory but suffered from trauma and severe depression. He committed suicide when she was 11 years old. After his death, Borne was awarded "Ward of the Nation" education benefits which the state granted to minors who were orphaned as a result of the war or had a parent who had died in exceptional circumstances.[8]

Borne attended high school at Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris. Later, she entered the École Polytechnique (class of 1981). In 1986, she obtained her Diplôme d'Ingénieur in civil engineering from the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (National School of Road and Bridge Engineering) and one year later a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Collège des Ingénieurs.

Career in the public sector

Borne joined the civil service as a government official at the French planning and works ministry (ministère de l'Equipement) in 1987. In the early 1990s, she was an advisor in the ministry of education under Lionel Jospin and Jack Lang (both members of the Socialist Party). From 1993 to 1996 she worked as a technical director for the public housing company Sonacotra. In 1997, prime minister Jospin appointed her as his advisor for urban planning, housing and transport.[10]

In 2002, Borne became a strategy director and member of the executive committee at the state-owned railway company SNCF, before joining the public works construction company Eiffage as concessions manager in 2007. She worked as director of urban planning for the City of Paris under mayor Bertrand Delanoë from 2008 until 2013.[11]

In 2013 Borne was appointed Prefect of the department Vienne and the region of Poitou-Charentes, the first woman to occupy that position.[12] At that time, Socialist politician Ségolène Royal was president of the regional council of Poitou-Charentes. When Royal became Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy in 2014, she appointed Borne as her chief of staff (directrice de cabinet).[13] Borne subsequently was the President and CEO of RATP Group, a state-owned enterprise which operates public transport in Greater Paris, from 2015 to 2017.[11]

Political career

For a long time Borne was close to the Socialist Party (PS), but without formally joining the party. After Emmanuel Macron's victory in the 2017 French presidential election, she joined La République En Marche! (LREM).[14]

Junior minister for Transport, 2017–2019

Borne served as minister-delegate of transport in the first and second Philippe governments from May 2017 to July 2019.[15][16][17] During her time in office, she held out against weeks of strikes and demonstrations in 2017 to end a generous pension and benefits system for SNCF railway workers.[18]

Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, 2019–2020

After the resignation of ecology minister François de Rugy in 2019, Borne was promoted to head the ministry of the ecological and inclusive transition. In that capacity, she led efforts to pass a long-term energy planning bill aimed at increasing security of supply and a clean mobility bill committing the country to reaching carbon neutrality in the transport sector by 2050.[19]

In 2019, Borne opposed France's ratification of the European Union–Mercosur free trade agreement.[20]

Since 2020 Borne has additionally been a member of Territories of Progress, a centre-left party allied with LREM.[21] In September 2022, both parties merged into the Renaissance party.

Minister of Labour, 2020–2022

In July 2020, Borne was appointed minister of labour, employment and economic inclusion in the government of prime minister Jean Castex, succeeding Muriel Pénicaud.[22] In that capacity, she oversaw negotiations with unions that resulted in a cut to unemployment benefits for some job seekers.[18] During her time in office, France's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years and youth unemployment to its lowest level in 40 years.[23][24][25]

Prime minister, 2022–2024

On 16 May 2022, Borne was appointed Prime Minister of France, succeeding Castex three weeks after the re-election of Macron for a second term as President of the French Republic. She is the second woman to serve as prime minister after Édith Cresson. She is also the second of Macron's prime ministers to be a member of his centrist party, after Castex.[26]

Borne was a candidate for Renaissance (formerly known as La République En Marche!) in the 2022 French legislative election in Calvados's 6th constituency in the Normandy region in northwestern France.[27] While remaining a candidate, under the dual mandate (cumuls des mandats) law she was not allowed to take up the position after she won the election, and was replaced by her designated alternate. She called on voters to support Macron's coalition, Ensemble Citoyens, saying it is the only group "capable of getting [a parliamentary] majority".[28] After the first round, in relation to contests between left-wing and far-right candidates, she said: "Our position is no voice for the RN." At the same time, she expressed support only for left-wing candidates who in her view respect republican values.[29][30] She was elected to Parliament in the second round.[31] Borne offered her resignation as prime minister after the results of the second round, but was rejected by Macron,[32] who instead tasked her to form a new cabinet.[33]

Following a cabinet reshuffle prompted by the 2022 legislative elections that resulted in a hung parliament,[34] Borne officially formed a minority government and easily survived a motion of no confidence triggered by MPs of the New Ecologic and Social People's Union (NUPES), a broad alliance of left-wing opponents, in response to the Government's refusal to call for a vote of confidence.[35][36] In March 2023, Borne survived by nine votes another motion of no confidence brought against her in response to President Macron's passage of a law that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote of the National Assembly.[37]

On 12 April 2023, Borne condemned LDH for speaking out against police brutality, particularly during a protest in the village of Sainte-Soline in western France.[38]

In May 2023, reports began circulating that Borne's government had withdrawn support for France hosting the 2025 Rugby League World Cup with her government demanding protection from financial loses if the tournament did not run at a profit. With the French organising committee unable to meet this new demand, France officially withdrew as tournament hosts on 15 May citing lack of governmental financial support as the reason.[39][40][41][42][43]

A cabinet reshuffle was conducted in July 2023, which was described as "strange" with the fact that longtime allies of Macron were promoted and individuals with little experience were dismissed.[44]

On 8 January 2024, she announced her resignation and was succeeded by education minister Gabriel Attal the following day.[45][46]

MP for Calvados's 6th constituency, 2024–present

News media reported that, upon her resignation, Borne turned down an invitation from President Macron to become Defense minister in the incoming Attal government.

In her resignation speech, Borne announced her intention to return as an MP for her Calvados's constituency, a seat she won in the 2022 legislative election. She was set to retake up her role in February 2024. On February 13, 2024, she officially began to perform the duties of a deputy in the National Assembly.[47] In parliament, she has since been serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[48]

Personal life

Borne married Olivier Allix, a lecturer and also an engineer, on 30 June 1989 with whom she later had a son, Nathan. The couple has since divorced.[49][50]

Borne was admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in March 2021 and was administered oxygen.[26]

In breaking with precedent by other French prime ministers who refrained from suing journalists, Borne asked a court in May 2023 to force the L'Archipel publishing house to cut about 200 lines in future editions of "La Secrète" (The Secretive One), a biography written by the French journalist Bérengère Bonte and mentioning intimate details of her private life.[51]

Borne is of Jewish descent.[52][53][54]

Honours

Ribbon bar Honour Date and comment
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour 12 July 2013[55]
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit 22 December 2022[56]
Officer of the National Order of Merit 14 November 2016[57]
Chevalier of the National Order of Merit 6 November 2008[58]
Commandeur of the National Order of Maritime Merit 2019[59]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Élisabeth Borne becomes France's first female prime minister in 30 years". The Guardian. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Gouvernement Castex en direct : Darmanin nommé ministre de l'intérieur, Dupond-Moretti garde des sceaux et Bachelot à la culture". Le Monde.fr (in French). 6 July 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Élisabeth Borne va être nommée Première ministre". INFO BFMTV. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  4. ^ Sage, Adam (17 May 2022). "Elisabeth Borne: France's first female prime minister for 30 years seeks unity". The Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b Beaucarnot, Jean-Louis (2022). "Élisabeth Borne: La Rhinaquintine et le bon beurre normand". Le Tout-Politique 2022. L'archipel.
  6. ^ Wattenberg, Frida (5 October 2010). "Joseph Bornstein, dit Borne". Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Date de naissance: 02/05/1924 (Anvers (Belgique))
  7. ^ a b Klein, Zvika (17 May 2022). "What are the Jewish roots of France's newest prime minister?". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b Porter, Catherine; Breeden, Aurelien (8 February 2023). "The Harrowing Personal Story France's Prime Minister Rarely Tells". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  9. ^ Bloch, Ben (17 May 2022). "France's new prime minister is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and French Resistance hero". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Elisabeth Borne". Who's Who in France. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b Philippe Jacqué, Cédric Pietralunga and Isabelle Chaperon (24 March 2015), RATP : Elisabeth Borne devrait remplacer Pierre Mongin Archived 8 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Le Monde, 24 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Elisabeth Borne, la nouvelle ministre de la Transition écologique, a été préfète de la région Poitou-Charente". France Bleu (in French). 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  13. ^ La préfète de Poitou-Charentes nommée directrice de cabinet de Ségolène Royal Archived 8 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Le Monde, 24 April 2014.
  14. ^ Dominique Albertini and Franck Bouaziz (8 January 2018) Transports : Elisabeth Borne, lasse du volant ? Archived 29 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine Libération.
  15. ^ "L'ancienne préfète de Poitou-Charentes Élisabeth Borne nommée ministre déléguée aux transports – 17/05/2017 – La Nouvelle République Vienne" (in French). Orig.lanouvellerepublique.fr. 13 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
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  19. ^ Louise Guillot (23 May 2022), Macron's new (not so) green team Archived 25 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  20. ^ Benoit Van Overstraeten (8 October 2019), France will not sign Mercosur deal under current conditions: minister Borne Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  21. ^ Jean-Rémi Baudot (20 September 2020). "Avec le mouvement "Territoires de progrès", Emmanuel Macron travaille son aile gauche". Europe 1. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
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  23. ^ "Government hails 'great French victory' as unemployment falls to 13-year low". Radio France Internationale. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Who is France's new Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne?". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  25. ^ "French unemployment slips to 14-year low in first quarter of 2022". Radio France Internationale. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  26. ^ a b Angelique Chrisafis (16 May 2022), Élisabeth Borne: a long-serving technocrat and 'woman of the left' Archived 18 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian.
  27. ^ "Législatives 2022. Candidate dans le Calvados, Élisabeth Borne est nommée Première ministre". 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  28. ^ Caulcutt, Clea (12 June 2022). "French far-left firebrand puts Macron's majority on the line in parliamentary vote". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Législatives 2022 en direct – Le Pen vise 100 députés RN, Mélenchon agite le spectre de la TVA sociale, Macron appelle 'au sursaut républicain' : la journée du 14 juin". Le Monde (in French). 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022. La majorité sortante a eu des difficultés à préciser sa position en cas de duel au deuxième tour entre la Nupes et le RN. La première ministre, Elisabeth Borne, a fini par déclarer lundi : 'Notre position, c'est aucune voix pour le RN.' 'Et pour la Nupes, si on a affaire à un candidat qui ne respecte pas les valeurs républicaines, qui insulte nos policiers, qui demande de ne plus soutenir l'Ukraine, qui veut sortir de l'Europe, alors nous n'allons pas voter pour lui', a poursuivi Mme Borne, qui est arrivée en tête dans sa circonscription dans le Calvados.
  30. ^ "Elections législatives : la majorité appelle à ' ne jamais donner une voix à l'extrême droite' et soutiendra les candidats Nupes 'républicains'". Le Monde (in French). 13 June 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
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  38. ^ "'Civil liberties in France are in danger,' says Human Rights League head". Le Monde.fr. 17 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
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  43. ^ "Confirmed: France will not host 2025 Rugby League World Cup". 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  44. ^ "The French government's strange reshuffle". Le Monde.fr. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  45. ^ "French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigns". Euronews. 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  46. ^ "Who is Gabriel Attal, the French PM who climbed the ranks in record time?". The Guardian. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  47. ^ "Élisabeth Borne retourne à l'Assemblée comme simple députée". France 24 (in French). 13 February 2024. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  48. ^ "Élisabeth Borne". National Assembly of France. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023.
  49. ^ "Elisabeth Borne : qui est son ex-mari et père de son fils, Olivier Allix ?". Femme Actuelle (in French). 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  50. ^ "Qui est le mari d'Elisabeth Borne, pressentie pour devenir Première ministre ?". Ohmymag (in French). 28 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  51. ^ Michel Rose (24 May 2023), French PM sues biography publisher for violating her privacy Archived 31 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  52. ^ "New French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, daughter of a stateless Auschwitz survivor". 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  53. ^ "What are the Jewish roots of France's newest prime minister?". 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  54. ^ "Élisabeth Borne: France's prime minister, Jewish political heavyweight". 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  55. ^ "Décret du 12 juillet 2013 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French). Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  56. ^ "Lors d'une remise de décoration, Macron salue Borne, "une femme de confiance plus que de confidence"". 22 December 2022. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  57. ^ "Décret du 14 novembre 2016 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French). Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  58. ^ "Décret du 30 janvier 2008 portant promotion et nomination". Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  59. ^ "Ordre du Mérite Maritime" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Élisabeth Borne.
Government offices
Preceded by President of the RATP
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister delegate of Transport
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration
2020–2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
2022–2024 		Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Preceded byas Former Prime Minister Order of precedence in France
Former Prime Minister 		Succeeded by
Didier Tabuteau
as Vice-President of the Council of State
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