Macron’s chief of staff steps down after eight years

[The powerful chief of staff of French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace is stepping down from the post he has held since the head of state was first elected in 2017, the presidency said on Thursday.

Alexis Kohler, 52, though unknown to many French people, is seen as one of the most significant players in politics in France and virtually the only top official to have remained with Macron throughout his two mandates.

Macron has two years of his final mandate to serve and is seeking to re-establish his position after a series of domestic political crises over the last year that has seen him burn through a succession of prime ministers.

Emmanuel Moulin, former director of France’s treasury and then head of Gabriel Attal’s office when he was prime minister, will succeed Kohler, the presidency said, confirming an earlier claim made by a source who asked not to be named.

Moulin will take over the role on April 14.

Kohler, dubbed the “vice president” and “twin” of Macron and regarded as his right-hand man, rarely spoke in public but had the duty of reading out new cabinets when they were named, in a sign of his authority.

He is expected to join a bank, according to the Le Figaro daily, which first reported the news.

“Alexis Kohler has devoted all his energy, talent and unparallelled hard work to serving our political project and the French people,” Macron said in a statement to the daily.