Nine days after the no-confidence vote against the Barnier government, France has a new prime minister: François Bayrou, leader of the centrist party MoDem and historical ally of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron who tasked him with forming the new “no-confidence” government. The appointment came shortly before 13 p.m. after a long meeting held this morning at the Elysée.
Bayrou: “We must find a way to reconcile the country”
In his inauguration speech held after the handover from his predecessor Michel Barnier, the new Prime Minister declared that “giving opportunities to those who don't have them” will be for him “a sacred duty”, and also promised to address the “glass wall that has been built between citizens and power”. “This glass wall, this separation, this rupture, for me is an enemy to fight”, he said, pledging to revive “the essence of Emmanuel Macron’s initial promise” in 2017, to fight “the idea” of a “destiny of which we were no longer masters and in which we had no possibility of progressing”.
"I am not ignorant of the Himalayas that await us.” but “I think we have to try. If we try, maybe we will find a new path. This path is marked by the desire for reconciliation“, added Bayrou.
“No one knows more than me the difficulty of the political and budgetary situation” of the country, the centrist stressed. The deficit of the second economy of the euro zone, he warned, “is an issue that poses a moral problem, not just a financial one.” After Barnier’s failed maneuver, Bayrou will now have to propose a budget law capable of finding a majority in parliament.
Who is François Bayrou?
During this morning's face-to-face meeting, which the French media described as "very tense", Macron reportedly told Bayrou that he would not be prime minister, proposing that he become number 2 in a government led by Roland Lescure. According to Le Monde, faced with Bayrou's refusal and his threats to break the coalition, the head of state would have changed his mind. While scenarios and backgrounds began to chase each other throughout Europe, the official statement arrived from the Elysée with the announcement that closed yet another French political crisis of 2024.
Bayrou is among the most experienced political personalities of the Fifth Republic and, according to his supporters, he is one of the few French politicians capable of dialoguing with all political parties. Macron has therefore chosen another name capable of uniting an increasingly divided country and politics. The new prime minister will have the arduous task of reuniting the various political fronts.
Seventy-three years old, married and father of six children, François Bayrou he is the leader of the centrist Modem party, with which Macron has been allied since 2017, but he is also the mayor of Pau, in the Pyrenees. During his long political career, he has been a member of parliament, but also an MEP and Minister of Education from 1993 to 1997. In May 2017, Macron appointed him Minister of Justice, but he resigned a month later.
The reactions
It is no coincidence then that after the nomination of Bayrou as Prime Minister, the president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, commented: “In theory there will not be a vote of no confidence a priori” on the part of his party but “the new prime minister must take into consideration the new political situation, which makes a dialogue necessary” with all the parliamentary forces. Marine Le Pen, for his part, asked the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, "to do what his predecessor did not want to do: listen and hear the opposition to build a reasonable budget and a reflection." "Any other policy that is nothing more than an extension of Macronism, rejected twice at the polls, can only lead to impasse and failure," wrote in X, the leader of the Rassemblement National.
The reaction was the oppositeextreme left by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. La France Insoumise immediately announced a motion of no confidence against Bayrou: “Another candidacy for the extension of Emmanuel Macron. Two clear choices are available to the country: the continuation of the policy of misfortune with Francois Bayrou or the break,” said Mathilde Panot of Lfi. In a message published on X, she spoke of “two choices will be offered to MPs: support for the rescue of Macron or censorship. We have done our part.”
The focus therefore shifts to the socialist party, who in recent days had agreed to work on "a common platform", but asked Macron to nominate a left-wing prime minister. After the choice of Bayrou, the party leader Oliver Faure announced that the party will not participate in the government, but it has been said willing to not distrust if the new prime minister will renounce (as he has already said he wants to do) 49.3 of the Constitution in exchange for no vote of no confidence. The French Communist Party and the Greens are also open to this.
Finally, the Republicans, who expect Bayrou to "explain his project" before "deciding on a possible participation" in the government, Laurent Wauquiez said during a meeting with his group at the National Assembly, according to participants on BFMTV.
The agreement on the government of "no confidence"
The decision on the new prime minister was expected yesterday evening, but Emmanuel Macron preferred to take a few more hours to choose the right name and secure the “no-confidence” agreement. This is how the agreement signed three days ago at the Elysée between the president and the political parties was defined, from right to left, with the exception of the two extreme wings: Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise and Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National.
The agreement is based on a double commitment: the government undertakes to no longer resort to the infamous 49.3, the article of the Constitution which allows a law to be passed without discussion in Parliament, by placing a vote of confidence. The parties, for their part, will guarantee "no vote of no confidence". This means that, even if they do not join the majority coalition or if they disagree with some measures, they will not present motions of no confidence to bring down the government and avoid repeating the script seen last December 4 with the Barnier executive. The now ex-premier, in fact, had placed his confidence in the part of the financial maneuver that concerned the accounts of the Sécurité Sociale, social security, resorting to article 49.3 of the Constitution. At that point, the New Popular Front had presented a motion of no confidence, also voted by the Rassemblement National of Marine Le Pen, who had provided the decisive votes to bring down the executive.
(Last update: 18.30 am on 13 December).
