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French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to unveil a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle in a bid to give new momentum to the final three years of his presidency, AFP reported.

After days of intense behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, Education Minister Gabriel Attal, 34, was emerging as the favourite to succeed Borne.

If appointed, Attal would be France's youngest ever and first openly gay prime minister.

"Ms Elisabeth Borne today submitted the resignation of the government to the president, who accepted it," the presidency said in a statement.

It emphasised that she and other ministers would continue to handle daily business until a new government is named.

But Borne's resignation letter to Macron, a copy of which was seen by AFP, hinted that she would have preferred to stay in her job.

"While I must present the resignation of my government, I wanted to tell you how passionate I was about this mission," she wrote.

While some expected a new prime minister to be swiftly named during the evening, a source close to Macron said the announcement would come only on Tuesday morning.

Borne, 62, the second woman to lead the French government, has weathered these problems but never dispelled doubts about her future.

Writing on X, Macron thanked her for "work in the service of our nation that has been exemplary every day".