Hollande taps bank economist to lead

Paris - Francois Hollande's top economic advisor is standing down and will be replaced by a senior economist from a US bank, an official at the French presidency said on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron will be replaced by Bank of America Merrill Lynch's chief European economist Laurence Boone, the official said confirming a report in Le Monde newspaper.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in London, Boone was an economist at Barclays in Paris and worked previously at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

As deputy chief of staff, Macron played a key role steering economic policy as Hollande struggled to revive the eurozone's second-biggest economy towards a much promised but little seen recovery.

The youthful former Rothschild partner was the French business community's ear at the Elysee presidential palace, otherwise stuffed with career technocrats with little experience in the private sector.