Macron appoints Bayrou as new PM to try to end chaos

French president Emmanuel Macron has named his ally Francois Bayrou as the new prime minister and tasked the veteran centrist with steering the country out of its second major political crisis in months.

- ANGUS THOMPSON

The priority for Mr Bayrou will be passing a special law to roll over the 2024 Budget, with a nastier battle over a fresh Budget early next year. Mr Macron’s last PM, Michel Barnier, was ousted after three months following a no-confidence vote.

Mr Barnier came under pressure after the former Brexit negotiator controversially used special constitutional powers to force through his Budget, made up of €60bn (£50bn) in tax hikes and spending cuts, without a vote.

Mr Bayrou, 73, is expected to put forward his list of ministers in the coming days but is likely to face the same existential difficulties as Mr Barnier did in steering legislation through a hung parliament comprising three warring blocs, a left-wing alliance, the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen and Mr Macron’s centrist bloc. Mr Bayrou’s proximity to the deeply unpopular president is also likely to prove a vulnerability.

Mr Macron is halfway through his second term as president, which is due to end in 2027, and Mr Bayrou will be his fourth prime minister this year. French politics has been deadlocked ever since Mr Macron called snap parliamentary elections in the summer with the aim of giving his centrists a clear mandate. But the plan backfired and left no single party in control of parliament.