President Emmanuel Macron is set to name a new prime minister on Friday after days of deadlock over finding a candidate to replace Michel Barnier, whose ousting by parliament pushed France into a fresh crisis.
Barnier was toppled in a historic no-confidence vote on December 4 and there had been expectations Macron would announce his successor in an address to the nation even a day later.
But in a sign of the stalemate in French politics after inconclusive legislative elections this summer, he did not name his successor then and has now missed a 48-hour deadline he gave at a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Macron left France on a day-long trip to key EU and NATO ally Poland but shortened the visit in an apparent bid to finalise the appointment.
“The statement naming the prime minister will be published tomorrow (Friday) morning,” said an aide to the president, asking not to be named, late Thursday just after Macron touched down from the trip to Poland.
“He is finishing his consultations,” the aide added, without giving further details.
The announcement is likely to come in a written statement, with the new cabinet to be revealed at a later date.
– ‘Stuck’ –
Whoever is named will be the sixth prime minister of Macron’s mandate after the toppling of Barnier, who lasted only three months. The new premier faces an immediate challenge in thrashing out a budget to pass parliament.
Each prime minister under Macron has served successively less time in office and there is no guarantee for the new premier that they will not follow this pattern.
Macron remains confronted with the complex political equation that emerged from the snap parliamentary polls — how to secure a government against a no-confidence vote in a bitterly divided lower house where no party or alliance has a majority.
All the candidates widely floated so far have encountered objections from at least one side of the political spectrum.
“They are stuck,” said a person close to Macron, asking not to be named and lamenting that “each name gets blocked.”
“No one is in agreement around the president,” added the source, expressing hope Macron will surprise everyone with an unexpected choice.
Macron’s rumoured top pick, veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, raises 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 Bayrou, prime ministerial contenders include former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, current Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Another name being discussed in the media is Roland Lescure, a former industry minister, but the nomination of the former Socialist risks inflaming the right.
– ‘Fresh wind’ –
These “are names that have been around for years and haven’t seduced the French. It’s the past. I want us to look to the future,” said Greens leader Marine Tondelier.
“The French public want a bit of enthusiasm, momentum, fresh wind, something new,” she told France 2 television.
Polls indicate the public is fed up with the crisis. Just over two-thirds of respondents to one Elabe poll published on Wednesday said they want politicians to reach a deal not to overthrow a new government.
But confidence is limited, with around the same number saying they did not believe the political class could reach agreement.
In a separate IFOP poll, far-right National Rally (RN) figurehead Marine Le Pen was credited with 35 percent support in the first round of a future presidential election — well ahead of any likely opponent.
She has said she is “not unhappy” that her far-right party was left out of the horse-trading around the government, appearing for now to benefit from the chaos rather than suffer blame for bringing last week’s no-confidence vote over the line.
In a critical looming moment, Le Pen on March 31, 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.
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