President Macron names centrist ally Bayrou as France's next prime minister

Francois Bayrou, leader of French centrist party MoDem (Mouvement Democrate), is seen on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP)

PARIS -

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday named centrist ally François Bayrou as prime minister in an effort to address the country's deep political crisis, after a historic parliamentary vote ousted the previous government last week.

Bayrou, 73, a crucial partner in Macron’s centrist alliance, has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades. His political experience is seen as key in efforts to restore stability as no single party holds a majority at the National Assembly.

Macron’s office said in a statement that Bayrou “has been charged with forming a new government.”

Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned last week following a no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes in the National Assembly, leaving France without a functioning government. Macron in an address to the nation vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, shakes hands with Francois Bayrou during the third plenary session of the CNR (National Council for the Refoundation) Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023at the Elysee in Paris in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, Pool)

Bayrou vows to seek ‘needed reconciliation’

During the handover ceremony, Bayrou said that “no one knows the difficulty of the situation better” than he does.

“I’ve taken reckless risks all along my political life to raise the issue of debt and deficits in the most important elections,” he said.

France is under pressure from the European Union’s executive body and financial markets to reduce its colossal debt, estimated to reach 6 per cent of its gross domestic product this year.

"I know that the risks of difficulties are much greater than the chances of success," Bayrou said, adding that he hopes to lead the country towards a “needed reconciliation.”

“I think this is the only possible path to success,” he said.

Bayrou is expected to hold talks with political leaders from various parties in the coming days in order to choose new ministers.

A difficult political challenge

The task before him is challenging as Macron’s centrist alliance does not have a majority in parliament and Bayrou’s Cabinet will need to rely on moderate lawmakers from both the left and right to be able to stay in power.

Some conservatives are expected to be part of the new government.

Macron’s strategy aims at preventing far-right leader Marine Le Pen from holding “make or break” power over the government. Le Pen helped oust Barnier by joining her National Rally party’s forces to the left to pass the no-confidence motion last week.

Le Pen said on Friday that her party will adopt a wait-and-see approach for now and called on Bayrou to “hear” her voters' demands, including preserving their purchasing power.

Bayrou’s appointment comes also in line with Macron’s efforts to build a non-aggression pact with the Socialists so that they wouldn't support any future move to topple the new government.

The Socialists said Friday they would not take part in the new Cabinet but did not rule out possible “compromises" regarding policies. They asked Bayrou for a commitment not to use a special constitutional power to pass a law without a vote at parliament.

"We expect you to provide the guarantees needed to avoid another no-confidence vote," the party wrote in a letter to Bayrou.

A weighty partner in Macron's centrist alliance

Bayrou leads the centrist Democratic Movement, known as MoDem, which he founded in 2007.

In 2017, he supported Macron’s first presidential bid and became a weighty partner in the French president’s centrist alliance.

At the time, he was appointed justice minister, but he quickly resigned from the government amid an investigation into the MoDem’s alleged embezzlement of European Parliament funds.

He this year was cleared in the case by a Paris court, which found eight other party officials guilty and sentenced the party to pay a fine.

Bayrou became well known to the French public when he was education minister from 1993 to 1997 in a conservative government.

Three times a presidential candidate

Bayrou was three times a candidate for president, in 2002, 2007 and 2012, which made him a familiar face in French politics.

His name had repeatedly surfaced as a potential prime minister in the past, but he was repeatedly passed over.

He is widely considered having helped lay the groundwork for Macron’s rise to power in 2017. Long before the French president upended the country's politics by crushing the traditional right and left, Bayrou tapped into voter frustration with entrenched conservative and Socialist camps.

A father of six and a practicing Catholic, Bayrou has played up his rural farming roots in the Pyrenees mountains, showing off his knowledge of tractors and cattle-raising — even while spending most of his time in the corridors of political power in Paris.

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.