Macron names Senegal-born spokeswoman in mini reshuffle

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PARIS, April 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed his Senegalese-born media advisor as government spokeswoman, one of
three new faces for his cabinet as it gears up for the European Parliament elections next month.

Sibeth Ndiaye, a 39-year-old born in Dakar, only obtained French citizenship in 2016 while working as media advisor for Macron’s presidential campaign.

She replaces Benjamin Griveaux, whose resignation last week came ahead of
a suspected run for Paris mayor next year.

“France has given me a lot. Today, it’s my turn to give something back,”
Ndiaye said at a handover ceremony in Paris on Monday, praising her parents
for helping her and her sisters “break through glass ceilings”.

After growing up with a politician father and a mother who was president
of Senegal’s Constitutional Council, Ndiaye moved to Paris to study at
university and became a leftwing student activist before joining the
Socialist Party in 2002.

“Her nomination is a strong endorsement of diversity in a high-profile
job, a promotion and a sign of the president’s trust,” Philippe Grangeon, one
of Macron’s top advisers, told French daily Le Monde.

“It’s a challenge for this engaging young woman, whose path has been quite
different from that of a typical government minister,” he added.

The three new faces in the government are all aged under 40 and keep
Macron’s pledge for a gender-balanced cabinet in tact.

Cedric O, a 36-year-old former treasurer for Macron’s campaign whose
father is South Korean, has replaced digital affairs minister Mounir
Mahjoubi, who is also planning to compete for the Paris mayor job.

The reshuffle was prompted by the departure of European Affairs Minister
Nathalie Loiseau to head Macron’s Republic on the Move list for the European
Parliament vote on May 23-26.

Her job was taken by Amelie de Montchalin, 33, a Republic on the Move
lawmaker heavily involved in building the French budget.

“Working on European matters will require plenty of combativeness and
plenty of energy,” she told BFM television on Sunday.