French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou
“President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Mr. Francois Bayrou as prime minister and assigned him the task of forming the French government,” AFP quoted a brief announcement from the Elysee Palace and did not provide further information.
Thus, it took Mr. Macron only 9 days to choose a suitable candidate for the prime minister’s position to replace Mr. Michel Barnier who resigned because the parliament voted no confidence after his government proposed an “austerity” budget. for next year.
Mr. Bayrou (73 years old) leads the MoDem movement, an ally with President Macron’s party since 2017.
The name of the new prime minister was announced after a tense and nearly 2-hour meeting between Mr. Macron and Mr. Bayrou on December 13, according to BFMTV.
It is expected that the power transfer ceremony between Mr. Barnier and Mr. Bayrou will take place today local time.
The new cabinet will be announced in a few days after key positions are selected.
The first challenge facing Mr. Bayrou is to form a cabinet that can overcome a vote of no confidence in a divided parliament and pass a suitable budget for 2025.
President Macron hopes that Mr. Bayrou can withstand the risk of a vote of no confidence at least until July next year, when France can hold the next general election.
However, observers warn that Mr. Macron’s future as president may be unpredictable if the government collapses again.
This is the fourth time Mr. Macron has appointed a prime minister this year.
