Philippe is a close associate of former prime minister Alain Juppe, who leads the moderate wing of The Republicans and has indicated that he favours helping Macron. Macron's presidential win itself was a seismic shift in a political landscape dominated for decades by the two main left-wing and right-wing parties. "In government, you will see that a lot of the inner circle will drop out," Christophe Castaner, Macron's campaign spokesman, told journalists on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony. "I was among the first to say 'why not a prime minister from the right'? Last year he was part of Juppe's unsuccessful campaign team in The Republicans' primaries, and then joined the presidential campaign of Francois Fillon, the party's nominee.

Source: dna May 15, 2017 12:56 UTC