PARIS (AP) 鈥� French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday named centrist ally Fran莽ois Bayrou as prime minister in an effort to address , after a historic parliamentary vote ousted the previous government last week.
Bayrou, 73, a crucial partner in Macron鈥檚 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.
Macron鈥檚 office said in a statement that Bayrou 鈥渉as been charged with forming a new government.鈥�
Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier following a no-confidence vote prompted by in the National Assembly, leaving France without a functioning government. Macron in an address to the nation vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027.
Bayrou is expected to hold talks with political leaders from various parties in the coming days in order to choose new ministers.
The task appears challenging because Macron鈥檚 centrist alliance does not have a majority in parliament and Bayrou鈥檚 Cabinet will need to rely on moderate lawmakers from both the left and right to be able to stay in power.
Some conservatives are expected to be part of the new government.
Macron鈥檚 strategy aims at preventing far-right leader from holding 鈥渕ake or break鈥� power over the government. Le Pen helped oust Barnier by joining her National Rally party鈥檚 forces to the left to pass the no-confidence motion last week.
The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, said Friday that his party will take a wait-and-see approach for now. 鈥淥ur red lines are still there, they鈥檙e not going to change,鈥� he warned.
National Rally officials, including Le Pen, have said they want any new budget law to preserve the purchasing power of the French people.
Bayrou鈥檚 appointment comes also in line with Macron鈥檚 efforts to build a non-aggression pact with the Socialists so that they commit not to vote against the government in any future confidence motion.
Mathilde Panot, head of the hard-left France Unbowed group at the National Assembly, criticized Bayrou鈥檚 appointment in a message on X as 鈥渢he continuity of (Macron鈥檚) bad policies.鈥� She said her party is ready to vote for a no-confidence motion again against the new government.
Bayrou leads the centrist Democratic Movement, known as MoDem, which he founded in 2007.
In 2017, he supported Macron鈥檚 first presidential bid and became a weighty partner in the French president鈥檚 centrist alliance.
At the time, he was appointed justice minister, but he quickly resigned from the government amid an investigation into the MoDem鈥檚 alleged embezzlement of European Parliament funds.
Bayrou this year was cleared in the case by a Paris court, which found eight other party officials guilty and sentenced the party to pay a fine.
Bayrou became well known to the French public when he was education minister from 1993 to 1997 in a conservative government.
He was three times a candidate for president, in 2002, 2007 and 2012.
Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press
