French PM Edouard Philippe confirms run for Le Havre mayor

Philippe intends to stay on as PM — as long as President Macron will have him.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will stand in local elections in the coastal town of Le Havre in Normandy but expects to remain in government for as long as President Emmanuel Macron wants him, he said Friday.

“I have decided to be a candidate for the mayoral election in Le Havre as the head of the list,” Philippe told the Paris-Normandie newspaper. "If the president of the Republic continues to trust me, I will continue my mission as prime minister," he added.

French ministers can't also be mayors and must quit the government in order to take up the position, according to an informal edict Philippe himself issued. But if Philippe is elected as mayor and Macron still maintains trust in him as prime minister, he can remain PM and delegate the Le Havre position to his deputy mayor.

Philippe's lack of clarity about whether he would run for the Le Havre role raised eyebrows over the past few weeks, as the prime minister continues to be embroiled in a battle with French unions over pension reforms.