France, May 18 -- France is hurtling towards legislative elections with a new Prime Minister in charge of ensuring President Emmanuel Macron's party keeps its majority in parliament. It's a tricky task for the holder of the second-highest job in the land -who herself has never held elected office.

Freshly minted head of government Elisabeth Borne is seeking her first mandate in Calvados, Normandy. Should she fail to win office, she'll still be able to remain Prime Minister because, under the French constitution, all members of the government are appointed by the president -not elected by the people.

It's a fairly unique process. France is the only country in the European Union in which prime ministers get hand-picked by the president, w...