Centrist Francois Bayrou named as France’s new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s resignation
Francois Bayrou is the new prime minister of France following Michel Barnier’s resignation.
The centrist politician met President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace early this morning.
The 73-year-old is a crucial partner in Macron’s centrist alliance and has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades.
Emmanuel Macron and Francois Bayrou. Pic: Reuters
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What to know about France’s new Prime Minister?
President Macron’s office said in a statement that Mr Bayrou “has been charged with forming a new government”.
The French government collapsed last week after Mr Barnier lost a vote of no confidence that was prompted by budget disputes.
Mr Barnier decided to use special powers to force a social security budget through the lower house of parliament without a final vote.
A last-minute concession was not enough to win support from the hard-right National Rally (RN).
It was the first time a French government had lost a confidence vote since 1962, and Mr Barnier subsequently tendered his resignation.
He was appointed in September and has become the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic, lasting just 90 days in the job.
Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence. Pic: Reuters
Mr Barnier was appointed following surprise elections called by President Macron earlier this year, which led to shock results which left the government and parliament in limbo.
The left-wing Popular Front alliance won the most seats – 193 – but it was far from the 289 needed for a majority.
Infighting among that alliance, which consists of seven parties, resulted in it being unable to agree on a candidate for prime minister.
Mr Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance, which came second in the election, built a loose coalition with right-wing politicians, in particular the Republicans, of which Mr Barnier was a member and who the far-right National Rally had said they could work with.
But both the Popular Front and National Rally came together to bring down Mr Barnier last week.
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Because his party does not have a majority, Mr Bayrou’s cabinet will be forced to rely on moderate politicians from the left and the right to be able to stay in power. Some conservatives are also expected to be part of the new government.
Mr Bayrou is expected to put forward his list of ministers in the coming days, but will likely face the same existential difficulties as Mr Barnier in steering legislation through a hung parliament made up of three warring blocs.
Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally party, said they would not be calling for an immediate no-confidence motion against Mr Bayrou.
President Macron has vowed to stay in office until the end of his term in 2027 despite mounting pressure on the 46-year-old to quit.
He previously claimed that far-right and left-wing politicians had united in an “anti-Republican front” and added: “I won’t shoulder other people’s irresponsibility.”
Mr Macron will hope the new prime minister can stave off no-confidence votes until at least July, when France will be able to hold a new parliamentary election.
The current political crisis has lifted French borrowing costs and left a power vacuum in the heart of Europe, as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
Trump criticises Putin – latest updates
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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