France’s embattled President Emmanuel Macron has appointed centrist ally Francois Bayrou as prime minister, he announced on Friday, as he seeks to calm a political crisis that has left his authority dwindling by the day, CNN reports.
Macron’s office made the announcement a week after the former office holder Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence, forcing him to submit his resignation.
Bayrou ran for president three times before rallying behind Macron in 2017. The 73-year old is the founder of the centrist Democratic Movement political party (MoDem), and mayor of the southwestern town of Pau.
He must now form a government and look to pass a budget through a sharply divided parliament, where Macron faces an avowed opposition from both the left-wing and far-right blocs.
Barnier’s minority government collapsed after just three months as it attempted to pass a 2025 budget, which included €60 billion ($62.9 billion) worth of tax hikes. His effort to force the agenda through without a vote gave lawmakers the chance to oust him, and left- and right-wing forces united to bring Barnier down.
Bayrou will take on that challenge, but it is unclear whether his stint in office will prove more fruitful than his predecessor.
He must pass his own budget before December 21. If that deadline is missed, the government could still legislate a “fiscal continuity law,” which would avoid a shutdown by allowing the government to collect taxes and pay salaries, with spending capped at 2024 levels, according to the S&P Global Ratings credit rating agency.
