President Macron names centrist ally François Bayrou as France's new prime minister
French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist ally François Bayrou as France's new prime minister on Friday as he sought to steer the country out of political chaos.
President Emmanuel Macron named centrist ally François Bayrou as France's new prime minister on Friday as he sought to steer the country out of political chaos following a no-confidence vote that toppled former Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government last week.
Bayrou, 73, the founder of the Democratic Movement party, will now face the task of trying to bring together a government that can push legislation through the same heavily divided parliament that came together in a rare moment of unity to oust Barnier on Dec. 5.
At the top of his priorities will be addressing France's ailing economy and drafting a cost-cutting budget that will gain the approval of lawmakers — a difficult task that fueled Barnier's downfall.
Barnier became France's shortest-serving prime minister after he was ousted just three months after Macron appointed him.
Francois Bayrou at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris.Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images file Far-left and far-right lawmakers in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, came together to vote overwhelmingly against him in a no-confidence vote, with 331 lawmakers supporting the motion — dozens more than were required for it to pass.
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