France Awaits Appointment Of New Government

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP

Paris: France awaited the appointment of a new government to lead the country out of its Political crisis, with President Emmanuel macron expected to hold talks with his new prime Minister on Sunday.

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, appointed on December 13, is racing to name a new government by Christmas.

Macron, who earlier Sunday returned to Paris after a visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte and East Africa, "definitely" planned to meet with Bayrou in the afternoon, said a source close to the French president.

A woman walks inside her damaged shop in the city of Mamoudzou on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, after the cyclone Chido hit the archipelago on December 22, 2024. Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP.

News of Bayrou's cabinet picks could come as early as Sunday.

The appointment of a new government was less likely to occur on Monday, when France will observe a national day of mourning for the victims of the disaster in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, where at least 35 people were killed.

Bayrou, the 73-year-old head of the centrist MoDem group, which is allied to Macron's party, pressed ahead with consultations over the weekend.

"We are making progress," Marc Fesneau of the MoDem group said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, confirming that the full makeup of the government should be presented "in one go" and "before Christmas".

Bayrou's most immediate priority is to make sure his government survives a no-confidence vote and passes a budget for next year.

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou gestures as he addresses journalists during the political TV show "L'Evenement" (The Event) broadcast on French TV channel France 2, in Paris, on December 19, 2024. Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP.

He is hoping to bring in high-profile figures from the left, right and centre in a bid to protect his government from possible censure.

By contrast, the minority government of Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, had leaned on support from Macron's centrist camp and his own conservative Les Republicains party, and the acquiescence of the far-right of Marine Le Pen.

But earlier this month the far right and left wing joined forces to eject Barnier from office, making his the shortest stint as prime minister in France's Fifth Republic, which began in 1958.

Barnier was brought down over his failure to win support for a budget to shore up France's shaky finances with spending cuts and tax rises to reduce the deficit.

The fate of top posts remained uncertain but former prime minister Elisabeth Borne and former interior minister Gerald Darmanin have been mentioned as possible members of Bayrou's team.

Conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, was expected to keep his job.

Bayrou had said Retailleau "had found directions that responded to what part of public opinion was demanding".

France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority.

The move backfired, with voters returning a parliament fractured between three rival blocs.

Many commentators are already predicting Bayrou's premiership will be short-lived.

Bayrou is the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate, and the fourth of 2024. Each has served for a shorter period than the last.

Historically low rating

Bayrou has endured a tumultuous first week as premier, not least after facing a barrage of criticism for attending a town hall meeting in the Pyrenees city of Pau, of which he remains mayor, while Mayotte was grappling with the catastrophic aftermath of Cyclone Chido.

Even before Bayrou has properly started his job, a new poll carried out by Ifop for the French weekly Journal du Dimanche found 66 percent of respondents were unhappy with his performance.

Only 34 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their new head of government.

Going back decades to 1959, Ifop said it had not seen such a low rating for a prime minister getting started in the job.

Bayrou has warned of the peril ahead if his government falls.

"If we fail in this attempt, then this is the last stop before the cliff," he said.

Hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party (LFI) has vowed to table a motion of no confidence when Bayrou gives a policy speech to parliament on January 14.

"Who understands what Francois Bayrou wants to do?" National Rally deputy leader Sebastien Chenu told broadcaster BFMTV on Sunday, pointing out that his far-right party was "not going to vote for a motion of censure immediately."

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