The Castex government (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Gouvernement Castex'') was the forty-second government of the French Fifth Republic, formed on 3 July 2020 and headed by Jean Castex as Prime Minister under the presidency of

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

. It was dissolved on 16 May 2022, after Élisabeth Borne was selected as prime minister following the re-election of Macron.

Context

Formation

After three years with the same government, the 2020 municipal elections raised the question of a new administration and led to speculations about a governmental reshuffle. The performance of President Macron's party,

La République En Marche! Renaissance (RE), previously known as La République En Marche ! (frequently abbreviated LREM, LaREM or REM; translated as "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward"), or sometimes called simply En Marche ! () as its original name, is a l ...

(LREM), at these elections strengthened the rumors. On 3 July 2020, Édouard Philippe tendered the resignation of his government to the President of the Republic. The same day, the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gover ...

informed the press that Jean Castex, incumbent Mayor of Prades, would replace him and form a new government, the third since the election of Macron. At the time of his appointment, Castex was very little known, only for his management of France's exit of lockdown following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. The composition of the government was announced on 6 July 2020 by Alexis Kohler, Secretary-General of the Élysée Palace, with a sizeable number of ministers from the previous one retained. Among the main changes, Gérald Darmanin, previously Minister for Public Accounts, replaced at the Interior Christophe Castaner who was heavily criticised by National Police's unions following accusations of violence and racism in their ranks. However, the nomination of Darmanin was met with protests by feminist movements over accusations of rape in 2009, as well as the one of Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti for his defense as lawyer of men accused of rapes. The new cabinet also saw the return of Roselyne Bachelot, who previously served as minister under

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

and

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, as well as

Barbara Pompili Barbara Pompili (born 13 June 1975) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Ecological Transition under Prime Minister Jean Castex from 2020 to 2022. Pompili has previously served as member of the National Assembly for the 2nd cons ...

, former Secretary of State for Biodiversity under

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, while main portfolios holders, such as Jean-Yves Le Drian, Jean-Michel Blanquer, Bruno Le Maire or Florence Parly remained in office. The Prime Minister delivered his policy speech before the National Assembly and asked for its confidence on 15 July 2020; he obtained it by 345 votes out of 577. On 26 July, the remaining state secretaries were appointed. Bruno Le Maire declared to be working at relaunching the French economy while Castex said to be ready to reopen dialogue over a controversial pension reform. A plan for a new lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic was also said to be ready.

Composition

;Ministers ;Deputy Ministers ;State Secretaries

References

{{EU governments French governments Cabinets established in 2020 Emmanuel Macron 2020 establishments in France