French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist ally François Bayrou as France’s new prime minister on Friday as he sought to steer the country out of political chaos following a no-confidence vote that toppled former Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government earlier this month.
Bayrou, 73, the founder of the Democratic Movement party, will now face the task of trying to bring together a government that can push legislation through the same heavily divided parliament that came together in a rare moment of unity to see Barnier’s ouster on Dec. 5.
At the top of his priorities, will be addressing France’s ailing economy and to draft a cost-cutting budget that will gain the approval of lawmakers — a difficult task that fueled Barnier’s downfall.
Barnier became France’s shortest-serving prime minister after he was ousted just three months after Macron appointed him.
Far-left and far-right lawmakers in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, came together to vote overwhelmingly against him in a no-confidence vote, with 331 lawmakers supporting the motion — dozens more than were required for it to pass.
The vote came amid mounting fury over Barnier’s efforts to push through a controversial 2025 budget using a rarely deployed constitutional mechanism to circumvent parliamentary approval.
Bayrou will be expected to put forward a list of ministers over the coming days, but it is unclear how he plans to navigate the difficult political landscape that brought Barnier’s own demise.
Macron will be hoping Bayrou can avoid a similar outcome and no-confidence vote until at least July, which is the soonest France will be able to hold new parliamentary elections after the French president called a snap general election earlier this year.
While Barnier’s ouster did not immediately affect Macron’s position, his future as president is likely to fall under scrutiny if France’s government were to collapse again.
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