French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed a Senegalese-born woman, Sibeth Ndiaye, as his government’s new spokesperson.
A presidency statement says that the appointment was part of a cabinet reshuffle.
The BBC reports that Ndiaye was born in Dakar, Senegal, and obtained her citizenship while helping to run President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign in 2016.
The BBC says that Ndiaye’s close connection to the president – and some of her comments in her time as his media advisor – have made her a target for criticism by opposition politicians.
In her role as media advisor to Macron, Ndiaye was heavily involved in his presidential campaign, granting or denying the media access to the presidential candidate for interviews and managing his image.
The BBC says Ndiaye was educated in Senegal and in Paris, and was involved in the French national students’ union.