French President Emmanuel Macron and his nominee for prime minister François Bayrou held a meeting last night at the Elysee Palace as part of the finalization of Bayrou's cabinet, which is expected to be announced today or tomorrow, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Bayrou is the sixth prime minister during Macron's years in power. He was nominated for the post after the fall of Michel Barnier's government, which was voted out of office in parliament over next year's budget.
Bayrou has held a number of consultations because he wants the most open team possible, including influential figures from both the left and the right, but also from the center. The aim is for the government to respond to the country's urgent challenges, particularly on budgetary issues.
However, Bayrou's first week as prime minister was marked by controversy over why he went to a meeting of the municipal council of the city of Pau, where he is mayor, instead of going to Mayotte, which was hit hard by a devastating cyclone. According to a poll, 66 percent of French people are already dissatisfied with Bayrou's actions.
Among the names mentioned for his government are that of former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne or former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The current ministers of territories, culture and the armed forces, Catherine Vautrin, Rachida Dati and Sébastien Lecornu, are expected to keep their posts. Bayrou himself said that he intends to leave the far-right Interior Minister Bruno Rötayo in his post.
The Socialists officially refused to participate in the government because what Bayrou offered them was very insignificant and they might even vote a vote of no confidence in his government. Bayrou agreed to start thinking about the pension reform, raising the retirement age to 64, but he did not mention its abolition, and this does not satisfy the Socialists.
On Saturday, the right-wing “Republicans“ said that they were orienting themselves towards participating in Bayrou's government.