French President Emmanuel Macron appointed his centrist ally François Bayrou as Prime Minister on Friday, the French presidency announced. This followed tortuous consultations to find a successor to Michel Barnier, who was ousted by a historic no-confidence vote last week.
"The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. François Bayrou as Prime Minister and tasked him with forming a government," according to a statement from the Élysée Palace. Mr. Bayrou faces the daunting challenge of forming a government capable of withstanding the threat of censure in a National Assembly with no majority bloc and passing a budget for 2025, which France currently lacks.
"There will be no a priori censure," said Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), whose MPs joined forces with left-wing lawmakers to topple former Prime Minister Michel Barnier in the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) announced it would support a no-confidence vote against Mr. Bayrou, arguing he does not come from the ranks of the left.
"MPs will face two choices: supporting Macron's rescue or voting for censure. We’ve made ours," wrote Mathilde Panot, the president of LFI's parliamentary group, on X (formerly Twitter). "We will file a motion of no confidence," added Manuel Bompard, the party's coordinator, calling the appointment a "middle finger to democracy."
At 73 years old, François Bayrou is the president of the centrist MoDem party, which he founded, and a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, whom he has consistently supported since Macron took office. Bayrou becomes Macron's sixth Prime Minister since 2017 and the 28th Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.
An enormous task awaits him as head of the government. His top priority will be the 2025 budget, as France grapples with heavy debt and the social security budget proposal that led to his predecessor’s downfall.
With AFP
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