PARIS (AP) – The Latest on the new French president’s first full day in office (all times local):
2:05 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s choice for prime minister is about to be named at 2:30 p.m. (1330 GMT).
The presidential Elysee Palace announced the timing in a statement on Twitter.
It says Alexis Kohler, Macron’s new general secretary at the Elysee, will make the announcement.
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1:40 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she has no intention of telling France what to do as new President Emmanuel Macron tries to revive his country’s economy.
Merkel was asked before a meeting with Macron on Monday whether she would recommend that he conduct labor market reforms similar to Germany’s over a decade ago. She replied: “I am the last person who is going to come and say what France has to do.”
Merkel said it’s important for French people, particularly the young, to have more hope of jobs. She added that there have been many proposals over the years for the development of the 19-nation eurozone.
She said: “I will of course discuss this with him, and I will say (we are) open to getting something done together.”
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1:35 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the election of new French President Emmanuel Macron offers an opportunity to bring new dynamism to Europe.
Macron is to meet Merkel in Berlin later Monday on his first foreign trip, a day after he took office. Germany and France are the traditional motor of European integration.
Merkel said ahead of the meeting: “Germany will in the long term only do well if Europe does well, and the election of the new French president offers us the opportunity to bring dynamism to European development.”
The German leader added that “we will do everything to develop good initiatives with the new president, Emmanuel Macron.”
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9:10 a.m.
On his first full day in office, France’s freshly inaugurated President Emmanuel Macron is expected to move quickly Monday on fronts foreign and domestic, meeting in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel and possibly unveiling his choice of prime minister.
Among names being bandied around for the top job in Macron’s first government, speculation is mostly centering on Edouard Philippe. The 46-year-old lawmaker, largely unknown to voters, is a member of the mainstream-right Republicans party. His appointment would be seen as an effort by the centrist Macron to build a majority in parliament by drawing in politicians from the right.
Macron’s trip to Berlin, his first as president, signals his intent to also move rapidly on campaign promises to revive support for the European Union by reforming and strengthening it.