France woke up on Saturday to a new prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou after his predecessor, Michel Barnier, was pushed out following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly last week.
France woke up on Saturday to a new prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou after his predecessor, Michel Barnier, was pushed out following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly last week, after he opted to bypass parliament to push through a contentious social security budget.
Bayrou's priority will be to steer the country out of its political crisis and negotiate with the opposition to agree on the 2025 budget. The 73-year-old acknowledged the difficulty of the task and called the current financial crisis a "moral problem" as the burden should not be passed on to future generations.
Meanwhile, some local residents are expressing disappointment over President Macron's latest pick. Residents say they expected someone different to take up the position of prime minister, while others say they hoped for a younger leader to be appointed.
Francois Bayrou is Macron's fourth prime minister this year. It remains to be seen whether the new appointee can survive until at least July 2025, which is the earliest possible date to hold fresh legislative elections.
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