French president Emmanuel Macron has chosen a centrist ally as France’s fourth prime minister in a year in a bid to break the political deadlock that has left the country without a stable government for months.
After several days of speculation Mr Macron named Francois Bayrou as prime minister following the collapse of the previous government led by conservative Michel Barnier after three months.
France has been grappling with major political turmoil since snap elections called by Mr Macron earlier this year left the country with a hung parliament.
Last week parties on the left and the far right voted to bring down a minority government led by Mr Barnier, which faltered trying to pass a controversial budget to rein in a huge spending deficit.
Talks had taken place between Mr Macron and several parties in the Elysee Palace in recent days as he tried to settle on a prime minister who might have a chance of putting together a governing coalition.
Mr Bayrou (73) founded the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party, which is one of the groups allied to the president’s Renaissance camp. The veteran centrist previously ran for president three times, but in 2017 supported Mr Macron, when he was first elected president.
In a speech alongside Mr Barnier yesterday, Mr Bayrou acknowledged the challenges facing him.
“Nobody knows the difficulty of the situation better than I do... I am not unaware of the Himalaya that stands before us,” he said. “I believe that this issue, the deficit and debt, is an issue that poses a moral problem, not just a financial one.”
The short-lived government led by Mr Barnier had been relying on the tacit support of Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally to survive. Despite a number of concessions by Mr Barnier, Ms Le Pen did not back the former government’s budget, which had sought to find €60 billion in savings.
Following an attempt to use special constitutional powers to push through the budget without a majority, parliament backed a motion of no confidence in Mr Barnier, who then resigned.
The snap elections called by Mr Macron this summer saw left wing parties unite under the New Popular Front banner, winning the most seats but falling far short of the 289 needed for a majority. The broad electoral pact ranged from France Unbowed, the radical party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, to the communists, the Greens and the centre left Socialist Party.
Mr Macron’s centrist camp came second in the election, losing a large number of seats in a result seen as a major blow to the president, while Ms Le Pen’s party came third.
Mr Barnier, a grandee of the small, centre right party The Republicans, had governed with the support of Mr Macron’s centrists. Angry over the president’s decision to turn to the conservatives to form a government after the election, the left wing New Popular Front bloc remained united in opposing Mr Barnier.
Mr Bayrou will likely try to win the support of more centre left parties, such as the Socialist Party and possibly the Greens, breaking them from the New Popular Front. Boris Vallaud, a senior Socialist deputy, said the party would be remaining in opposition.
Laurent Waquiez, leader of The Republicans, said the party will make a decision on whether to support Mr Bayrou after he outlines his plans. Mr Waquiez said on social media: “Our collective decision on a potential participation will depend on his programme.”
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, said the party would not be calling for an immediate no-confidence motion
The first hurdle of the new government will be to try to pass a budget, seen as crucial to shore up the confidence of the financial markets in France. In the interim emergency measures will allow for civil servant salaries and state pensions to be paid, avoiding a US-style federal government shutdown.
Other names who had been mentioned as possible contenders for the Matignon included the defence minister Sébastien Lecornu and Bernard Cazeneuve, who previously served as prime minister during the presidency of François Hollande.
The Elysee made the announcement on Friday after Mr Macron cut short a trip to Poland to fly back to Paris in the face of mounting political pressure over the government crisis.
Additional reporting – agencies.
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