President Emmanuel Macron returned to Paris on Sunday after a visit to cyclone-ravaged Mayotte and East Africa, as France, wracked by political deadlock, waited for the appointment of a new government.
France’s new Prime Minister François Bayrou, appointed on December 13, is rushing to appoint a new government by Christmas. News about his cabinet choices is expected on Sunday.
Meanwhile, France will mark a national day of mourning on Monday for the victims of the disaster in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, where at least 35 people died – a death toll that authorities have warned could rise.
Bayrou, the 73-year-old head of the centrist MoDem group, which is affiliated with Macron’s party, continued the talks this weekend.
“We are making progress,” Marc Fesneau of the MoDem group said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, confirming that the entire composition of the government should be presented “at once” and “before Christmas.”
Bayrou’s most immediate priority is to ensure his government survives a no-confidence vote and passes a budget for next year.
He hopes to bring in high-profile figures from left, right and center in an effort to shield his government from possible censure.
Earlier this month, the far right and left joined forces to unseat Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, making him the shortest stint as prime minister in France’s Fifth Republic, which began in 1958.
France has been at an impasse since Macron gambled on early elections this summer in the hope of strengthening his authority. This move backfired: voters returned to a parliament divided between three rival blocs.
Many commentators are already predicting that Bayrou’s premiership will be short-lived.
Bayrou is the sixth prime minister during Macron’s mandate, and the fourth in 2024. Each of them has served for a shorter period than the last.
– Historically low rating –
Bayrou has had a tumultuous first week as prime minister, not least after facing a barrage of criticism for attending a town hall meeting in the Pyrenees town of Pau, where he remains mayor, while Mayotte struggled with the catastrophic aftermath of Cyclone Chido.
Even before Bayrou had properly started his job, a new Ifop poll for the French weekly Journal du Dimanche found that 66 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with his performance.
Only 34 percent say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their new government leader.
Going back decades to 1959, Ifop said it had never seen such low approval ratings for a prime minister who took on the role.
Bayrou has warned of the danger if his government falls.
“If this attempt fails, this will be the last stop before the cliff,” he said.
Barnier was toppled for failing to win support for a budget that would prop up France’s shaky finances with spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the budget deficit.
Far-left troublemaker Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party (LFI) has promised to table a vote of no confidence when Bayrou delivers a policy speech to parliament on January 14.
Earlier this week, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said he was disappointed by his meeting with Bayrou, adding that he was “shocked at the poverty” of what had been proposed.
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