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PICTURED: Sibeth Ndiaye gives her first press conference at the Elysee as the new spokesman of the Government, on Monday

FRENCH PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron has appointed Senegal-born Sibeth Ndiaye as the French government spokeswoman.

The move follows new cabinet changes made by Macron on Sunday night (Mar 31). Ndiaya accepted her new post on Monday (Apr 1) at a handover ceremony, where she replaced Benjamin Griveaux.

She said: “I take this step with pride in serving France, the country I chose for myself. Even before I was French, I was one of the people involved in this country, especially in [Paris suburb] Seine-Saint-Denis, where nothing is simple, but where everything is possible.

"France has given me a lot, today it is my turn to give something back."

Ndiaye has spent almost five years at Macron’s side as his media advisor, and is known for her blunt speech and reputation for putting the French press in its place.

DAKAR TO PARIS

The 39-year-old mother of three has been closely associated with politics her whole life. Born in Dakar in 1979, her father, Fara, took on the No. 2 role in Abdoulaye Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) before leaving to join then president Abdou Diouf’s team in 1986, Le Monde reported.

After Wade won the country’s presidency in 2000, he named Ndiaye’s mother, Mireille to preside over the nation’s Constitutional Council, a post she held for eight years.

Ndiaya left Dakar after middle school for Paris, where she attended the Lycée Montaigne across from the Luxembourg Gardens. There she became a left-wing student activist and joined the Socialist Party in 2002.

She earned a Master’s degree in healthcare economics before being named the Socialist Party’s national secretary for early childhood issues in 2009.

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