French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Edouard Philippe, a relatively unknown 46-year-old lawmaker, as prime minister, making good on campaign promises to repopulate French politics with new faces. Alexis Kohler, Macron's new general secretary at the presidential Elysee Palace, made the announcement Monday. Philippe is the mayor of the Normandy port of Le Havre, a trained lawyer and an author of political thrillers. He's also a member of the mainstream-right Republicans party that was badly battered by Macron's victory in the presidential campaign. Philippe could also attract other Republicans to Macron's cause as the centrist president works to piece together a majority in parliament to pass his promised economic reforms.

Source: CBC News May 15, 2017 13:14 UTC