Castex will leave Matignon and there was no better parting gift – The HuffPost

via Associated PressJean Castex at the Élysée Palace, April 28, 2022.POLITICS – Before a final trip as Prime Minister this Sunday, May 15 to the Vatican, Jean Castex celebrated, surrounded by his ministers and his secretaries of state, as well as of their spouses, his departure from Matignon this Thursday evening. The man from the southwest received a very special gift during his farewell. The evening began with a pot in the gardens of Matignon, then ended with a dinner, reports Le Parisien. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister also said goodbye to Matignon staff. He confirmed to his ministers that he did not wish to be reappointed Prime Minister. “For me the adventure is over, said Jean Castex during his speech, reports the daily. It is a political necessity.”“My feelings are not contradictory”, he added, referring to a “necessary evolution” and his “regret, at the same time, to leave [s]work here at Matignon where [il a] was very happy”. Suspense around the next Prime MinisterAt the end of his speech “which resembles him, human and warm”, according to a Secretary of State, the former mayor of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) was offered, after a standing- ovation, a pen and above all a rugby jersey bearing the number nine, the same as that of Antoine Dupont, the French rugby player, who is his favorite player. The jersey was also covered with dedications from members of his government. Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term officially ends this Friday, while the scenario of Jean Castex’s departure at the start of next week seems to be taking shape. “The resignation will take place on Monday”, believes a majority official, interviewed by AFP. The mystery remains over the next occupant of Matignon, responsible for giving new impetus to the June legislative elections, although Emmanuel Macron announced in Berlin on Monday that he already knew who would be his next Prime Minister, endowed according to him with a “social”, “ecological” and productive profile”. The Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne, the Director General of Unesco Audrey Azoulay, the former Socialist Minister of Social Affairs Marisol Touraine… Several names with a “techno” profile are circulating. See also on The HuffPost: Legislative: The LREM candidates targeted by justice little worried in their party