French president appoints conservative prime minister

Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron today appointed a former political opponent as prime minister, an attempt to broaden his coalition. Édouard Philippe, 46, is a prominent member of the conservative Republican Party who backed Alain Juppé in the primaries. When Juppé lost to François Fillon, a candidate plagued by scandals, Philippe threw his support behind Macron. Analysts say Philippe could attract more conservatives to Macron’s coalition, which could push the centrist president further to the right. Macron served as finance minister in the former Socialist government before resigning to start his own party last year. He is the first president of France elected without the backing of a major political party. He hopes candidates from his En Marche! party will win enough seats in upcoming parliamentary elections to give him a legislative base of support. Macron ran on a pro-European Union, pro-globalization platform, soundly defeating nationalist Marine Le Pen.