François Bayrou appointed French Prime Minister

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President Emmanuel Macron has chosen one of his first allies, centrist politician François Bayrou, as prime minister as he seeks to stabilize political turmoil in France that has stalled his second term.

The 73-year-old’s appointment came after a nearly two-hour meeting at the Elysée Palace, which was deemed tense and led Macron to reconsider other names at the last minute.

It also came after a year of political instability in France in which Macron has already named three prime ministers, a crisis that deepened when Macron called and lost early elections.

Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, a former Brexit negotiator, was ousted last week in a vote of confidence in the National Assembly over his budget proposal after just under three months in office.

The new prime minister combines a market-oriented vision of the economy with support for social justice measures such as taxing the rich.

A three-time presidential candidate himself, he has also called for proportional voting to boost a culture of compromise in parliament and for more power to be transferred from Paris to the rest of the country.

But his appointment was immediately met with criticism from Macron’s opponents.

“Macron is a president in a bunker, and his new prime minister must take into account the new political situation,” said Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party.

“You must accept that you do not have democratic legitimacy or a majority in the assembly, so you must dialogue with all parties.”

The moderate left, whose support is crucial to neutralizing the RN, which cast the decisive votes to bring down the previous administration, also made clear its discontent with Bayrou’s appointment.

Chloé Ridel, spokesperson for the Socialist Party, harshly criticized Macron for choosing an ally instead of a left-wing candidate, who came first in July’s parliamentary elections.

“If Bayrou wants our support, he will have to take measures to address parts of our agenda, such as pensions or salaries,” he said.

The uncertainty now afflicting French politics contrasts not only with Macron’s first term, when he had an overwhelming majority, but with much of the history of the 66-year Fifth Republic, during which most governments have proven be relatively stable.

It has rattled markets and spooked businesses in France, which have curbed investment just as growth slows and unemployment rises.

France is under pressure to reduce its deficit, which will stand at 6 percent of national output by the end of the year, well above the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP.

Bayrou will face the same difficulties in navigating a parliament divided into three irreconcilable blocs and passing a budget for next year.

Macron has tried to prepare the ground for the new government with a non-aggression pact with the heads of opposition parties (excluding the far right and far left) in which they would agree not to overthrow the government in exchange for concessions.

To eliminate the RN, he will need to reach an agreement with the Socialists, who have 66 seats, and perhaps the Greens with 38 and the Communists with 17, without losing the right at the same time.

Fabien Roussel, leader of the communist party, said the appointment of a loyalist as prime minister sent “a bad signal that is not what the public wants,” adding: “They want a change of political direction, and there is little chance that that happens now. .”

However, in a more conciliatory tone, he added: “We will not automatically censure this new government, but rather judge based on its actions.”

Much will depend on how much Bayrou deviates from Macron’s pro-business policies to chart his own course.

His support was key to Macron being elected for the first time in 2017 and his MoDem party supporting the president.

But Alain Duhamel, a long-time political journalist and BFM TV analyst, warned against seeing him as just a Macron ally who would do the president’s bidding.

“Bayrou is his own man, he has his own ideas and will be independent of Macron,” Duhamel said, adding that he could seek compromises with the left.

If another prime minister were to fall, it would intensify pressure on Macron, whose presidential term still has two and a half years left, to resign and break the political deadlock.

The president has insisted he will not resign as he wants to push for more reforms and protect earlier changes such as raising the retirement age and efforts to make France more attractive to investors.