Emmanuel Macron names Jean Castex as France's new Prime Minister

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French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday named Jean Castex, a top civil servant and local mayor who orchestrated France's exit from its coronavirus lockdown, as prime minister in a high-stakes cabinet reshuffle.

"The president of the Republic has named Jean Castex as prime minister and mandated him to form a government," the presidency said in a brief statement.

He replaces Edouard Philippe, who resigned earlier on Friday.

Castex, 55, hails from the center-right of French politics and served for two years as the second-highest-ranking official in the Elysee Palace during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency.

Emmanuel Macron has named Jean Castex as France's new prime minister after he led the country's COVID-19 exit strategy./AP

An Elysee official described Castex as a senior civil servant whose experience in local politics would help Macron connect with provincial France. Castex was a "social Gaullist", the official said about the more interventionist, a socially-minded wing of France's center-right.

Macron and Philippe dined together on Wednesday and met on Thursday. The Elysee source described Thursday's discussions as warm and friendly. Both men agreed on "the need for a new government to embody the next phase, a new path," the aide said.

Macron, who has pursued ambitious economic reforms since coming to office in 2017, has already admitted that the recession caused by the health crisis would require the government to shift tack.

Edouard Philippe had dinner with Macron on Wednesday, during which the pair agreed a new government was needed to take the country forward./AP

In an interview with regional newspapers published late Thursday, Macron said France must prepare for a "very difficult" economic crisis, "so we have to chart a new course."

"I see this based on an economic, social, environmental and cultural reconstruction," he said. "Behind this, there will be a new team."

Macron's move to refashion his centrist government comes after voters punished the former investment banker and his party in nationwide municipal elections.

The elections revealed surging support for the Green party and underlined Macron's troubles with left-leaning voters. The only bright spot for Macron was Philippe's own victory in the northern port city of Le Havre.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)