1 week Ago By RFI
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday named centrist politician François Bayrou as France's new prime minister, a week after lawmakers toppled the government and plunged the country into political uncertainty. A veteran centrist, Bayrou raises hackles on the left – which is wary of him continuing the president's policies – and on the right, where he is disliked by influential former president . Macron has been under mounting pressure to choose a candidate capable of uniting a deeply divided parliament, and securing the passage of a budget to address France's growing debt.
Bayrou will need to forge a consensus on how to tackle the country's rising budget deficit, now at 6.1 percent – far above the 4.4 percent projected for the end of 2024.
His appointment follows two days of talks at the Élysée Palace, at which Macron met with party leaders to find a candidate capable of bridging divides and passing next year’s budget. The far-right (RN) and hard-left (LFI) parties were not included in the discussions. Macron had been widely expected to name the new prime minister on Thursday evening.
The delay underscores the political challenges posed by the fractured lower house of parliament, a result of July's snap elections. The parliament remains split between a leftist alliance, the centrists and the conservatives, with the far-right RN complicating efforts to secure a stable government capable of surviving no confidence votes. Read also:.
