French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday chaired what is likely to be his final Council of Ministers meeting after two years at the helm of the government.
The 56-year-old confirmed on Tuesday that he and his government would resign “without delay” to allow for a new phase as freshly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron begins his new term on 13 May.
Government sources say his resignation can be expected in “the coming days” – most likely early next week.
Dozens of ministers, deputy ministers and secretaries of state were present at the Elysée Palace on Thursday morning for the meeting, which needed to be moved to the Elysée's party room to accommodate the high number of guests.
They've all been invited to attend a buffet lunch, described in the French press as a last supper of sorts, to mark the end of the 2017-2022 term.
Jobs on the line
Many face slim chances of reappointment to ministerial posts in the upcoming government reshuffle.
"It's going to be strange to find ourselves toasting around a glass, when most of us probably won't be here next week," one unnamed minister told French daily Le Parisien.
"This is the last meal of the condemned."
An adviser to the Elysee confirmed to Le Parisien that some government staff would find themselves unemployed in six days' time.
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"There are those who know their best chances are not to cause a fuss (government spokesman) Gabriel Attal, (Overseas Minister) Sebastien Lecornu, (Interior Minister) Gerald Darmanin, (Public Services Minister) Amélie de Montchalin and (Agriculture Minister) Julien Denormandie,” the source told the paper.
Ambitious ministers with smaller portfolios would be hoping to climb the ranks, while bigwigs such as Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot were “worried”, the source added.
Meanwhile there is much speculation as to who Macron will choose to succeed Castex as Prime Minister, someone he described as "a man of heart with social fibre”. Other ministers hailed Castex for being “loyal to the end”.
On Wednesday Macron said the new head of government would be someone attached to social and environmental issues.
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