On 30 August 2016 , Macron resigned from the government ahead of the 2017 presidential election , to devote himself to his En marche movement . There had been rising tensions and several reports that he wanted to leave the Valls government since early 2015 . Macron initially planned to leave after the cancellation of his " Macron 2 " law but after a meeting with President François Hollande , he decided to stay and an announcement was planned to declare that Macron was committed to the government ( though the announcement was pushed back due to the 2016 Nice Attack and 2016 Normandy church attack ) . Michel Sapin was announced as Macron 's replacement . Speaking on Macron 's resignation , Hollande said he had been " betrayed " . According to an IFOP poll , 84 % of French agreed with Macron 's decision to resign
2016 Normandy church attack
2016 Normandy church attack
Emmanuel Macron