The 73-year-old Bayrou must therefore manage to make an offer to the left in a deeply divided political landscape without underestimating the conservative Republicans. Only in this way can he form a government alliance
The new prime minister appointed by President Emmanuel Macron has an almost impossible task ahead of him: Surrounded by feuding parties, he must forge a stable government coalition. Nine days after the fall of the Barnier government, France now has a new prime minister. He is François Bayrou, who leads a small centrist party and is considered a close confidant of President Emmanuel Macron. Bayrou must now ensure stable political relations. But the party landscape in France is divided.
The government he must form must no longer be dependent on the tolerance of the right-wing radicals of the Rassemblement National. For Bayrou, who leads the small center-right Mouvement Démocrate party, cooperation with the moderate left is essential. This is no easy task: When asked by reporters about this, he stressed: “Everyone knows how difficult it is to find a way to unite and not divide.” Reconciliation is needed.
LEFT-SIDE SKEPTIC
Only if Bayrou manages to attract the moderate left, that is, the socialists, the ecologists or the communists, into the coalition can he withstand a possible vote of no confidence from the far-left LFI and the far-right Rassemblement National. But in the meantime, the socialists have communicated that they are not ready to enter into a coalition under the leadership of Francois Bayrou. By appointing Bayrou, Macron once again ignored the results of the elections on July 7, 2024, in which the left-wing alliance NFP won the majority of votes. Macron should therefore appoint a prime minister from the left. Instead, writes party leader Olivier Faure, Macron is deepening the democratic crisis. Marine Tondelier of the ecologists is also skeptical. She threatened that she would tolerate Bayrou’s new government only if he accepts parts of the ecologists’ program. But Bayrou must not only pave the way for the left, the head of the communist party, Fabien Roussel, drew attention. According to him, the prime minister should no longer use the special article 49.3. This article allows laws to be passed without the final approval of the National Assembly. “Only if Bayrou guarantees that he will not use article 49.3, everyone will be forced to make compromises.” Only in this case can a vote of no confidence be avoided, Roussel emphasized. RASSEMBLEMENT NATIONAL IN WAITING
The leader of the Rassemblement National, Jordan Bardella, declared that he will initially wait. He does not automatically aim for a vote of no confidence against the Bayrou government. But Bardella also sets red lines: No tax increases for businesses and people with low or medium incomes, no pension cuts. “Emmanuel Macron is a president who has bunkered himself down,” declared Bardella. The new prime minister must be clear that he has no democratic legitimacy or parliamentary majority.
“He must be open to all parties and to the voters.” Marine Le Pen writes in X that Bayrou must do what his predecessor Barnier did not want to do. “Listen to the opposition and understand it, in order to conceive a reasonable and well-thought-out budget.” The 73-year-old Bayrou must therefore manage, in a deeply divided political landscape, to make an offer to the left without undermining the conservative Republicans. Only in this way can he create a government alliance.
