Reducing deficit a 'moral issue', says new French PM

Newly-named French prime minister Francois Bayrou has said reducing France's pile of debt was not only a political priority but a moral obligation.

"The deficit and the debt, that's an issue which raises moral questions," Mr Bayrou said in his first speech upon taking office.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron named Mr Bayrou as the new prime minister, handing him the daunting task of hauling France out of months of political crisis.

Mr Bayrou, the 73-year-old head of the MoDem group which is allied to Mr Macron's party, was appointed nine days after Michel Barnier's government was ousted by parliament in a historic no-confidence vote following a standoff over an austerity budget.

"The President of the Republic has appointed Mr Francois Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government," the French presidency said in a statement, giving no more details.

Mr Bayrou is the sixth prime minister of Mr Macron's mandate after last week's toppling of Mr Barnier, who became France's shortest-serving prime minister and lasted only three months.

He is also Mr Macron's fourth prime minister of 2024.

Mr Bayrou now faces an immediate challenge in putting together a cabinet that can survive a no-confidence vote in a deeply divided parliament and thrash out a 2025 budget in a bid to limit economic turmoil.

The announcement was made after Mr Macron received Mr Bayrou for nearly two hours of talks today. BFMTV reported the talks with Mr Bayrou had been "tense".

Mr Barnier, 73, has handed over power to his successor at a ceremony in Paris.

Handover ceremony

Ahead of the ceremony a red carpet was rolled out and microphones installed in the courtyard of the Matignon, the seat of the French government.

The new cabinet is expected to be revealed at a later date.

Mr Macron has been confronted with the complex political equation that emerged from snap parliamentary elections this summer - how to secure a government against a no-confidence vote in a bitterly divided lower house where no party or alliance has a majority.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which was put together to prevent the far-right from coming to power, emerged as the largest bloc in the National Assembly after the summer elections.

Bosses of the NFP alliance that includes the Socialists, Communists and Greens, had demanded that Mr Macron appoint a prime minister from their ranks.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who emerged as kingmaker after the summer elections and helped topple down the government, has not been part of the most recent talks.

There had been expectations that Mr Macron would announce Mr Barnier's successor in an address to the nation last week, after the hard left and far right joined forces to topple the premier's government.

But in a sign of the stalemate, Mr Macron did not name Mr Barnier's successor then and missed a 48-hour deadline he gave at a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday.

Yesterday, an aide to Mr Macron said that the statement naming the prime minister would be published this morning.

'Stuck'

The candidacy of Mr Bayrou has raised hackles on the left - wary of continuing the president's policies - and on the right, where he is disliked by influential former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Beyond Mr Bayrou, prime ministerial contenders included former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Mr Le Drian said yesterday he had turned down the job.

"I turned it down," he told Le Penthievre, a regional weekly. "In two and a half years, I'll be 80, it wouldn't be serious."

Opinion polls indicate the public is fed up with the crisis, with just over two-thirds of respondents to an Elabe poll published on Wednesday saying they want politicians to reach a deal not to overthrow a new government.

Each prime minister under Mr Macron has served successively less time in office and there is no guarantee the new premier will not follow this pattern.

In an IFOP poll, Ms Le Pen was credited with 35% support in the first round of a future presidential election, well ahead of any likely opponent.

In a critical moment, Ms Le Pen on 31 March 2025 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies.

If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections and with it her best chance yet of winning the Elysee Palace.

France's new prime minister faces biggest challenge