French PM hopes to name new government by Christmas

PARIS

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou gestures as he takes part in the political TV show "L'Evenement" (The Event) broadcast on French TV channel France 2, in Paris, on Dec. 19, 2024.

New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is hoping to name a government to lead the country out of its political quagmire at the weekend, or by Christmas at the latest.

The country was plunged into fresh chaos earlier this month after the far right and left wing joined forces to eject Bayrou's predecessor Michel Barnier from office.

Veteran former justice minister Bayrou's cabinet picks will have to negotiate the divided parliament that brought down Barnier, whose time in office foundered on his minority administration's failure to pass a state budget.

Bayrou said on Dec. 19 he hoped that his new administration would "be presented... over the weekend" and "in any case before Christmas."

A centrist ally of President Emmanuel Macron, Bayrou is tasked with succeeding where Barnier failed.

Any budget will have to shore up France's shaky finances without triggering further censure from the far right or the left over spending cuts and tax rises to reduce the deficit.

France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections earlier this year in the hopes of bolstering his authority.

Instead, voters returned a parliament fractured between three rival blocs, with his centrist movement a roughly similar size to the broad leftist alliance and the far right.

Both those camps have urged the government to reverse some of Macron's flagship reforms, including the raising of the state pension age from 62 to 64 years old.

That triggered widespread protests after it was forced through by a controversial constitutional mechanism.