New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Friday he faced a “Himalaya” of a challenge to tackle France’s deficit, with opponents’ lukewarm reactions to his appointment underlining the difficulty of the job he faces.
According to Reuters, President Emmanuel Macron earlier named Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024, tasking his centrist ally with steering France out of its second political crisis in six months. He replaces Michel Barnier, who was ousted by lawmakers last week for trying to pass a cost-cutting 2025 budget.
Bayrou, a three-time presidential candidate who has long warned of French fiscal profligacy, inherits the same rowdy parliament that felled Barnier. His proximity to the deeply unpopular Macron may also hurt him. In a speech alongside Barnier on Friday, Bayrou acknowledged the challenge.
“Nobody knows the difficulty of the situation better than I do… I am not unaware of the Himalaya that stands before us,” he said. “I believe that this issue, the deficit and debt, is an issue that poses a moral problem, not just a financial one.”
Efforts to rein in the deficit, expected to close the year at over 6% of gross domestic product, lie at the heart of France’s political malaise. The festering crisis has raised doubts about whether Macron will complete his second presidential term until 2027, lifted French borrowing costs and left a power vacuum in the heart of Europe, just as Donald Trumpprepares to return to the White House.
Bayrou’s immediate priority will be passing a special law to roll over the 2024 budget, with a nastier battle over the 2025 legislation looming early next year. Bayrou told reporters he wanted to move quickly, but France’s stark political divisions mean even the basic task of naming his cabinet could drag on.
The Socialists, irked that the president ignored their demands for a leftist prime minister in favour of a “Macronista,” said they would not join Bayrou’s coalition, and could even seek to topple him if he tries to ram through the budget. The pro-Barnier centre-right said it would wait to see Bayrou’s proposals before deciding whether to join him, Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the Republican Right grouping in the National Assembly, wrote on X.
