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PARIS — French Prime Minister François Bayrou unveiled a new government on Monday, aiming to achieve the seemingly impossible: bring together a deeply split parliament and stay in office long enough to introduce meaningful change.
Even before it was officially announced, the composition of the administration was criticized for giving into some of the demands of the far right.
As the political crisis in France deepens, Bayrou’s government includes a mix of newcomers and holdovers from the administration of his predecessor, Michel Barnier — toppled less than three months after being appointed — with mostly centrist and conservative ministers in key roles.
Bayrou, a 73-year-old stalwart of French centrism and one of President Emmanuel Macron’s earliest supporters, strong-armed Macron into appointing him last week. With this, France’s fourth government in a year, he has promised to reconcile a divided country.
But his first few days in office were marked by controversy and vain attempts at convincing opposition groups to join forces with him.
Xavier Bertrand, a conservative heavyweight and a longtime rival of Marine Le Pen, of the far-right, said an offer for him to become justice minister had been rescinded “due to [his] opposition to the National Rally,” he wrote in a statement.
“I refuse to take part in a government formed with Marine Le Pen’s approval,” he added.
Here are some of the Bayrou government appointees:
- Foreign affairs minister: Jean-Noël Barrot
- Defense minister: Sébastien Lecornu
- Economy and finance minister: Eric Lombard
- Interior minister: Bruno Retailleau
- Minister for ecological transition: Agnès Pannier-Runacher
- Justice minister: Gérald Darmanin
- Junior minister for industry and energy: Marc Ferracci
- Junior minister for AI and tech: Clara Chappaz
- Junior minister for Europe: Benjamin Haddad
- Junior minister for trade: Laurent Saint-Martin
Bayrou appears to have been unsuccessful in his first mission: building a broader base than Barnier in order to avoid a government collapse. The prime minister was hoping to bring in the center-left Socialist Party in order to build a majority but ultimately failed to do so, which means that like Barnier, he will helm a minority government.
The new government’s key challenges will include passing a budget — something Bayrou said he wants to accomplish before mid-February — and navigating a fractured French legislature with no clear majority.
The new government was supposed not to rely on Le Pen and her National Rally party, which turned on Barnier and led to his downfall. But that also appears not to be the case.
The centrists and conservatives backing Bayrou do not hold a majority of seats in the French parliament, meaning the prime minister will need at least tacit support from the National Rally or from the Socialists in order to stay in office. Like his predecessor, he will fall if all opposition forces join forces and pass a motion of no-confidence.
“It’s not a government, it’s a provocation,” Socialist party leader Olivier Faure reacted on X after the announcement. “The hard-right in power under the watchful eye of the extreme right.”
One of the most noteworthy reappointment is Bruno Retailleau as interior minister. Retailleau has held this position since September. His hardline stances on immigration have made him a darling of the right but a bogeyman on the left.
The government also includes two former prime ministers: Manuel Valls, who is appointed minister for overseas territories, and Elisabeth Borne, who becomes education minister.
