Francois Bayrou appointed France's new Prime Minister amid political crisis

President Emmanuel Macron appointed centrist leader François Bayrou as prime minister, giving him the challenging responsibility of guiding France out of a prolonged political crisis.

Bayrou, 73, leader of the MoDem group allied with Macron's party, was chosen just nine days after Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote, triggered by a standoff over an austerity budget.

"The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. François Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government," the French presidency said in a statement, without providing further details.

Bayrou becomes the sixth prime minister of Macron’s term, following the ousting of Barnier last week, who became France's shortest-serving prime minister, holding office for just three months.

He is also Macron's fourth prime minister in 2024.

Bayrou now faces the immediate task of assembling a cabinet that can survive a no-confidence vote in a deeply divided parliament, while also negotiating a 2025 budget to mitigate economic instability.

The announcement came after President Macron held nearly two hours of discussions with Bayrou on Friday. According to BFMTV, the talks with Bayrou were described as "tense."

Barnier, 73, was set to officially transfer power to his successor during a ceremony late Friday morning, as confirmed by ministerial sources to AFP.

Ahead of the handover ceremony, a red carpet was laid out, and microphones were set up in the courtyard of Matignon, the official residence of the French government.

The new cabinet is expected to be unveiled at a later time.

Macron has been grappling with the challenging political landscape created by the snap parliamentary elections this summer. His primary concern is how to secure a government that can withstand a no-confidence vote in a deeply divided lower house, where no party or alliance holds a majority.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), formed to block the rise of the far-right, became the largest bloc in the National Assembly following the summer elections.

Leaders of the NFP alliance, which includes the Socialists, Communists, and Greens, had called for Macron to appoint a prime minister from their ranks.

Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader who became a key figure after the summer elections and played a role in toppling the government, was not involved in the latest round of talks.

There had been speculation that Macron would announce Barnier's successor in a national address last week, following the collaboration of the hard left and far right in bringing down the prime minister's government.

However, in a sign of the ongoing deadlock, Macron did not name a successor at that time and missed the 48-hour deadline he had set during a meeting with party leaders on Tuesday.

On Thursday, one of Macron's aides stated that the prime minister's appointment would be announced on Friday morning.