PARIS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday named Christophe Castaner interior minister to replace Gerard Collomb, whose surprise resignation had put the head of state in the hot seat.
In a statement, the president's office, the Elysee, said "following the proposal of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, the President of the Republic, named Christophe Castaner as interior minister."
The nomination of Castaner, one of the president's earliest backers, came shortly after the outgoing Collomb handed in his resignation two weeks ago.
Castaner had been Macron's spokesperson during his campaign for the presidential election in 2017 before being appointed secretary of state for parliamentary relations.
In Macron's first cabinet after winning the election, the 52-lawyer was named leader of the ruling camp "Republique En Marche" party. He also served a few months as the government's spokesman.
In the cabinet reshuffle, the fourth since he took power in May 2017, Macron had brought in new names with different political views, hoping to regain his footing and inject fresh air into his administration amid falling public support.
