By Abiola Olawale
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday announced the appointment of Francois Bayrou, a prominent centrist leader, as the new prime minister of France.
Bayrou, who is 73 years old and serves as the head of the Democratic Movement (MoDem), a party allied with Macron’s own, steps into this role just nine days after a historic no-confidence vote led to the ousting of Michel Barnier’s government.
His appointment was announced in a press statement issued by the French presidency.
The statement reads in part:“The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. Francois Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government.”
The New Diplomat reports that Bayrou becomes the sixth prime minister of France under Macron’s administration.
He will succeed Barnier, who became France’s shortest-serving prime minister and lasted only three months.
He is also Macron’s fourth prime minister of 2024. Bayrou now faces an immediate challenge in putting together a cabinet that can survive a no-confidence vote in a divided parliament and thrash out a 2025 budget in a bid to limit economic turmoil.