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15-12-2024
PARIS: Centrist leader François Bayrou has become France’s latest prime minister, chosen by President Emmanuel Macron in a bid to end months of political turmoil.
Bayrou, a 73-year-old mayor from the south-west who leads the MoDem party, said he was fully aware of the “Himalayan” task facing France, and he vowed to “hide nothing, neglect nothing and leave nothing aside”.
He is seen by Macron’s entourage as a potential consensus candidate and his task will be to avoid the fate of his predecessor.
Ex-Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was ousted by MPs nine days ago and welcomed Bayrou to the prime minister’s residence on Friday.
Barnier was voted out over a budget aimed at cutting France’s budget deficit, which is set to hit 6.1% of economic output (GDP) this year. Bayrou said the deficit and public debt were a moral as well as a financial problem because “passing it on to one’s children is a terrible thing to do”.
Macron is half-way through his second term as president and Bayrou will be his fourth prime minister this year.
French politics has been deadlocked ever since Macron called snap parliamentary elections during the summer and an opinion poll for BFMTV on Thursday suggested 61% of French voters were worried by the political situation.
Although a succession of allies lined up to praise Bayrou’s appointment, Socialist regional leader Carole Delga said the whole process had become a “bad movie”. Far-left France Unbowed (LFI) leader Manuel Bompard complained of a “pathetic spectacle”.
The centre-left Socialists said they were ready to talk to Bayrou but would not take part in his government. Leader Olivier Faure said because Macron had chosen someone “from his own camp”, the Socialists would remain in opposition.
President Macron has vowed to remain in office until his second term ends in 2027, despite Barnier’s downfall last week.
He cut short a trip to Poland on Thursday and had been expected to name his new prime minister on Thursday night, but postponed his announcement until Friday.
He then met Bayrou at the Elysée Palace and a final decision was made hours later but in an indication of the fraught nature of the talks, Le Monde newspaper suggested that Macron had preferred another ally, Roland Lescure, but changed his mind when Bayrou threatened to withdraw his party’s support.
Bayrou arrived at the prime minister’s residence at Hôtel Matignon late on Friday afternoon. A red carpet had been rolled out for the transfer of power even before his name was confirmed.
His challenge will be in forming a government that will not be brought down the way his predecessor’s was in the National Assembly. The far left France Unbowed (LFI) have already threatened to demand a vote of no confidence as soon as they can.
Ahead of his appointment, Macron held round-table talks with leaders from all the main political parties, bar the far left of Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen.
The question is who can be persuaded to join Bayrou’s government, or at least agree a pact so they do not oust him.
When the only possible means of survival for a minority government is to build bridges on left and right, Bayrou has the advantage of having passable relations with both sides, media reports.
Michel Barnier was appointed only in September and said on Friday he knew from the outset that his government’s days were numbered. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
