Bayrou, 73, was named the new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s government was toppled by a vote of no confidence on 4 December.
François Bayrou, a centrist and loyal ally of President Emmanuel Macron, was appointed as France’s new prime minister on Friday afternoon.
The announcement came after the French leader and Bayrou spoke for nearly two hours at the Elysée Palace on Friday morning.
The leader of the Democratic Movement party (MoDem) is somewhat popular even with some far-right National Rally MPs (RN) but still does not have unanimous support from members of other parties.
“If this hypothesis (François Bayrou) is confirmed, we’ll give him a chance, as we did with Michel Barnier,” said Philippe Ballard, a far-right MP.
However, the hard-left party France Unbowed (LFI) has declared it will propose a no-confidence vote against Macron’s new pick.
Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier was toppled in a no-confidence vote in parliament on 4 December after he tried to force the adoption of next year’s social security budget plan without a vote from the MPs.
Yesterday, Macron travelled to Poland but shortened the visit in an apparent effort to finalise the appointment after missing a promised 48-hour deadline he told party leaders on Tuesday.
The new cabinet will be revealed in the coming days. The challenge now for Bayrou will be to form a government that will not be brought down by MPs.
The new prime minister and his cabinet will have the daunting task of passing the nation’s 2025 budget plan in a bitterly divided lower house.
The current parliament is divided into three distinct blocs with no clear majority after Macron called for snap elections during the summer.
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