Paris, France:

Francois Bayrou, one of few political heavyweights to have stood by French President Emmanuel Macron since he came to power in 2017, now faces his biggest challenge after finally being promoted to prime minister.

Bayrou, 73, heads the liberal Democratic Movement (MoDem) party which is allied to, but not part of, Macron’s centrist force and has supported the president ever since his victorious 2017 election campaign.

Three times a presidential candidate himself, in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and long cited as an obvious choice for Macron as head of government, he finally has his chance.

Bayrou was acquitted in February after a seven-year-long case over the fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants by his party, the judge ruling that he was owed the “benefit of the doubt”.

Bayrou was named justice minister by Macron when he took the presidency in 2017.

He resigned the same year when the legal case was opened against him, but remained a key behind-the-scenes ally. His acquittal opened up a potential return to government.

He was regarded as the most likely candidate by commentators, even though his acquittal is still subject to an appeal by prosecutors.

Bayrou will have to navigate a tricky course as the sixth prime minister of Macron’s presidency after parliament toppled Michel Barnier on December 4.

Each successive premier has served for a shorter period than their predecessor and, given the composition of the National Assembly lower house, there is no guarantee that Barnier’s successor will last any longer than the three months that the right-winger was in office.

‘He hates him’

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, whose forces could prove useful for Macron in ensuring the stability of the next government, said on Wednesday he opposed naming Bayrou as he would embody “continuity”. 

Bayrou will also have to navigate hostility from the still-influential former right-wing French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to one source, “the priority for Sarko is anyone but Bayrou”.

Sarkozy, who still holds sway on the right despite criminal convictions since leaving office, even held talks with Macron at the Elysee on Sunday to make clear his feelings, a ministerial source, asking not to be named, told AFP.

“He hates him,” another source on the right added, saying Sarkozy’s hostility towards Bayrou dates back to his support for Socialist Francois Hollande in the run-off of the 2012 presidential elections after he was eliminated in the first round.

“He (Sarkozy) is totally off the leash on the subject,” added a pro-Macron lawmaker.

Bayrou has enjoyed a long and varied political career, which has seen him work with former right-wing presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Jacques Chirac before backing Hollande in 2012.

Mayor of the southwestern city of Pau, Bayrou is a practising Catholic but also a staunch supporter of France’s secular system. 

He gained notoriety during the 2002 presidential campaign when he slapped on the face a child who tried to pick his pocket.

He won less than seven percent of the vote and was eliminated in the first round.

The father of six children, Bayrou is also the author of a biography of the 16th- and 17th-century French king Henry IV.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

French centrist party MoDem (Mouvement Democrate) leader Francois Bayrou. File
| Photo Credit: AP

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (December 13, 2024) named centrist ally Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister, after a historic parliamentary vote ousted the previous government last week.

Bayrou (73), a crucial partner in Mr. Macron’s centrist alliance, has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades. His political experience is seen as key in efforts to restore stability as no single party holds a majority at the National Assembly.

Mr. Bayrou was recently cleared in a case alleging embezzlement of European Parliament funds.

Mr. Macron vowed last week to remain in office until his term ends in 2027.

Paris:

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to name a new prime minister in the “coming days” to replace Michel Barnier, who was toppled by a no confidence vote after just three months in office.

Macron did not announce a name in an address to the nation late on Thursday and the appointment is no longer expected before Monday, multiple sources told AFP.

Barnier was Macron’s fifth prime minister since coming to power in 2017. Each successive premier has served for a shorter period than their predecessor and given the composition of the National Assembly, there is no guarantee that Barnier’s successor will last any longer than he did.

Here, AFP looks at the four names seen as the most likely contenders.

All the possible candidates so far are men and all were already in the running in September when Barnier was eventually appointed.

But it is far from ruled out that another candidate could emerge, with Barnier himself only coming into contention at the last moment back then.

Sebastien Lecornu

The ultimate Macron loyalist, Lecornu was the only key minister to stay on from the previous government in the last cabinet reshuffle in September, a measure of the importance of his job in the third year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A career politician, Lecornu, still only 38, started out as a parliamentary assistant aged just 19. He has held ministerial posts ever since Macron came to power in 2017 and was promoted to defence minister in May 2022.

He has worked staunchly to keep up assistance for Ukraine, while carefully remaining in the shadows with infrequent media appearances.

Some French media, including BFM-TV, reported that Macron had been close to naming Lecornu in his address on Thursday but decided to take more time after some within the presidential camp said the minister was too right-wing.

Francois Bayrou

A heavyweight politician who has been allied to Macron since he swept to power in the 2017 election campaign, Bayrou heads the MoDem party which is allied to, but not part of, Macron’s centrist force.

Bayrou, 73, was acquitted in February after a seven-year-long case over the fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants by his party, with the judge ruling that he was owed the “benefit of the doubt”.

A three-time presidential candidate, Bayrou was named justice minister by Macron when he took the presidency in 2017.

He resigned the same year when the legal case was opened against him but he remained a key behind-the-scenes ally, with his acquittal opening up a potential return to government.

Xavier Bertrand

Bertrand, 59, is the right-wing head of the northern Hauts-de-France region and previously served as labour and health minister between 2005 and 2012 under presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

An articulate media performer, Bertrand unsuccessfully sought the nomination of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party to fight the 2022 presidential elections.

He remains close to Sarkozy who, despite criminal convictions in trials since leaving office, wields considerable influence over the traditional right.

Bernard Cazeneuve

Former Socialist Party grandee Bernard Cazeneuve, 61, held the post of prime minister for less than half a year under the presidency of Francois Hollande from 2016-2017.

He is better known for his much longer stint as interior minister under Hollande, which coincided with the radical Islamist attacks on Paris in November 2015.

Cazeneuve quit the Socialists in 2022 in protest at the party’s broad left-wing pact with factions including the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) and still has a tense relationship with his former colleagues.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)