He will teach economics and geopolitics at the University of Lausanne, Le Maire said. However, he will remain living in France.
Following the parliamentary elections and the appointment of Michel Barnier as the new French prime minister, the appointment of a new government in France is imminent. Le Maire had previously announced that he would not continue in office.
In a farewell speech, Le Maire, 55, who belongs to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, referred to the economic progress made in France during his time in office since 2017.
The re-industrialisation of the country had been set in motion and, contrary to the trend of French bashing, the disparagement of France from an economic perspective, France had become the most attractive business location in Europe, he claimed. Unemployment had fallen and growth in France was higher than in the UK, Italy and Germany, he said.
However, Le Maire is leaving office with mixed results.
The state of France’s public finances has recently deteriorated considerably. The EU Commission is already pursuing deficit proceedings against France due to excessive new borrowing. The goal of gradually bringing new borrowing back below the European limit of 3% now seems a long way off. With a public debt level of 110% of gross domestic product, France remains one of the worst performers in the eurozone.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
Meet the foreigners who make up a quarter of the Swiss population
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
Eight years for parents who killed disabled daughter in Switzerland
This content was published on
A couple who killed their severely disabled daughter in Hägglingen, northern Switzerland, have each been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Researchers throw concrete blocks down Swiss mountain
This content was published on
Researchers are rolling huge chunks of concrete down the slope on the Weissfluhjoch near Davos in eastern Switzerland for scientific purposes.
This content was published on
Almost two-thirds of Swiss people are more frequently concerned with death and the issue of living wills and advance healthcare directives.
Russian shelling kills three Red Cross workers in eastern Ukraine
This content was published on
Russian shelling on Thursday killed three Ukrainians working for the ICRC and wounded two others in a village in the frontline Donetsk region.
Swiss banks fret over sanctions risk to wealth business
This content was published on
A survey of Swiss banks has highlighted international sanctions imposed on other countries, such as against Russia over Ukraine, as the greatest geopolitical risk to their business.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.