France's new PM is man behind coronavirus reopening strategy

Mr Castex, 55, who is mayor of the small town of Prades in Occitanie and a departmental councillor for Pyrénées-Orientales, is also president of the National Sport Agency and government representative for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

It comes as previous prime minister Edouard Philippe has resigned on behalf of the whole government, meaning a reshuffle is imminent.

He and his cabinet will however continue to do the day to day running of government until the new team is named, probably around July 8.

The last scheduled Conseil des Ministres cabinet meeting of the outgoing team, which was meant to be held this morning, was cancelled after the prime minister submitted his resignation.

According to a survey by FranceInfo the majority of French people support a change of government, towards more ecological and ‘social’ values.

The popularity of Mr Philippe had been increasing in recent weeks but there had been rising speculation that a reshuffle was imminent.