Macron appoints Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Dec 2024 22:38

Bayrou faces an uphill battle to unite a fractured parliament, craft a 2025 budget to address France's ballooning deficit—now at 6.1% of GDP—and restore public trust in government institutions.

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France's newly appointed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks after the handover ceremony at the Hotel Matignon , the Prime Minister residence, in Paris, Friday Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday appointed centrist Francois Bayrou as the country's new prime minister, marking the latest effort to stabilize a government rocked by months of political and economic turmoil.

Bayrou, leader of the MoDem group allied with Macron's party, assumes office nine days after parliament ousted Michel Barnier's government in a historic no-confidence vote over an austerity budget dispute.

Bayrou, 73, becomes Macron's sixth prime minister and fourth appointment to the role in 2024.

He faces an uphill battle to unite a fractured parliament, craft a 2025 budget to address France's ballooning deficit—now at 6.1% of GDP—and restore public trust in government institutions.

Tensions at the Elysee

The decision to appoint Bayrou followed dramatic back-and-forth discussions at the Elysee Palace earlier on Friday.

Initial reports suggested that Macron had leaned toward naming Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister, but Bayrou threatened to dissolve his alliance with Macron unless he was chosen.

Sources close to the talks described the meeting as stormy, with Macron ultimately opting for Bayrou to preserve political unity.

"This may have been the first time that a prime minister chose himself," remarked Mujtaba Rahman, Europe director at the Eurasia Group.

A daunting agenda

Speaking at the handover ceremony with outgoing Prime Minister Barnier, Bayrou acknowledged the magnitude of the challenges ahead.

"No one knows better than me the difficulty of the situation," he said, referencing the nation's economic instability and political divisions. He also vowed to tackle the "glass wall" separating citizens from government authorities.

Barnier, who served as prime minister for just three months, described France's situation as "unprecedented and grave," stressing the urgency for decisive action.

Bayrou's immediate tasks include forming a cabinet capable of surviving a no-confidence vote and negotiating with various political factions in parliament, excluding the far-right National Rally (RN) and hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) parties.

Macron's team described Bayrou as the most consensual choice to overcome these challenges.