France's Macron names centrist ally Bayrou as PM

by Francesco Fontemaggi, Stuart Williams and Anna Smolchenko

President Emmanuel Macron on Friday named centrist leader Francois Bayrou as prime minister, handing him the daunting task of hauling France out of months of political crisis.

Bayrou, the 73-year-old head of the MoDem group which is allied to Macron's party, was appointed nine days after Michel Barnier's government was ousted by parliament in a historic no-confidence vote following a standoff over an austerity budget.

"The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. Francois Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government," the French presidency said in a statement, giving no more details.

Bayrou is the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate after last week's toppling of Barnier, who became France's shortest-serving prime minister and lasted only three months.

He is also Macron's fourth prime minister of 2024.

Bayrou now faces an immediate challenge in putting together a cabinet that can survive a no-confidence vote in a deeply divided parliament and thrash out a 2025 budget in a bid to limit economic turmoil.

The announcement was made after Macron received Bayrou for nearly two hours of talks Friday. BFMTV reported the talks with Bayrou had been "tense".

Barnier, 73, was expected to hand over power to his successor at a ceremony late Friday morning, ministerial sources told AFP.

- Handover ceremony -

Ahead of the ceremony a red carpet was rolled out and microphones installed in the courtyard of the Matignon, the seat of the French government.

The new cabinet is expected to be revealed at a later date.

AFP President Emmanuel Macron named centrist leader Francois Bayrou as new prime minister

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which was put together to prevent the far-right from coming to power, emerged as the largest bloc in the National Assembly after the summer elections.

Bosses of the NFP alliance that includes the Socialists, Communists and Greens, had demanded that Macron appoint a prime minister from their ranks.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who emerged as kingmaker after the summer elections and helped topple down the government, has not been part of the most recent talks.

There had been expectations Macron would announce Barnier's successor in an address to the nation last week, after the hard left and far right joined forces to topple the premier's government.

But in a sign of the stalemate, Macron did not name Barnier's successor then and missed a 48-hour deadline he gave at a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday.

On Thursday, an aide to Macron said that the statement naming the prime minister would be published Friday morning.

- 'Stuck' –

The candidacy of Bayrou has raised hackles on the left -- wary of continuing the president's policies -- and on the right, where he is disliked by influential former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Beyond Bayrou, prime ministerial contenders included former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Le Drian said on Thursday he had turned down the job.

"I turned it down", he told Le Penthievre, a regional weekly. "In two and a half years, I'll be 80, it wouldn't be serious."

Opinion polls indicate the public is fed up with the crisis, with just over two-thirds of respondents to an Elabe poll published on Wednesday saying they want politicians to reach a deal not to overthrow a new government.

Each prime minister under Macron has served successively less time in office and there is no guarantee the new premier will not follow this pattern.

In an IFOP poll, Le Pen was credited with 35 percent support in the first round of a future presidential election, well ahead of any likely opponent.

In a critical moment, Le Pen on March 31, 2025 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies. If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections and with it her best chance yet of winning the Elysee Palace.

© Agence France-Presse