A New Chapter for France: Bayrou as Prime Minister Facing Challenges

François Bayrou, an experienced representative of the political center and now France's new Prime Minister, faces the challenge of navigating a divided parliamentary landscape. In the 1990s, Bayrou, as Minister of Education, caused nationwide protests with his plans to increase subsidies for private schools. However, these difficulties pale compared to the tasks now awaiting him. As Emmanuel Macron's fourth Prime Minister of the year, Bayrou must first pass a budget for 2025 through Parliament. His first step will be to form a new government, which, like that of his predecessor Michel Barnier, will have only minority support in Parliament. Barnier was the first head of government since 1962 to be overthrown by a vote of the National Assembly. Currently, however, there is cross-party support for emergency measures to maintain government financing. François Bayrou, at 73 years old a veteran of the political scene and once the standard-bearer of centrism, joined the political shift initiated by Macron in 2017. In view of the growing national debt, he sees not only a financial problem but also a moral dilemma. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining peace, although this hardly seems possible in the Assemblée Nationale dominated by three factions. "Our red lines remain," affirmed Jordan Bardella, leader of the right-wing Rassemblement National. These red lines refer, among other things, to the indexing of pensions to inflation until 2025. In parliamentary debates, the opposition party will measure the government by how it addresses economic challenges such as reducing the deficit and supporting the ailing industry. There are numerous challenges: from reducing the deficit from a projected 6.1% in 2024, to increasing military spending for Ukraine, to reforms needed to sustainably change the economy. For Bayrou, it will be crucial not only to appease the opposition but also to find consensus within the government and among the various interest groups. Whether he succeeds will significantly determine how stable his term will be.