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Newly appointed French Prime Minister François Bayrou formed the country’s fourth government in less than a year, with a key challenge for his cabinet being securing approval for the 2025 budget.
The list of France’s new ministers under freshly nominated Prime Minister François Bayrou was unveiled on Monday by the Elysée presidential palace secretary, Alexis Kohler. The new cabinet is made up of 34 members, including leading figures and former ministers, mostly conservative and centrist politicians. Who are some of the new ministers?Elisabeth Borne, the former prime minister, becomes the Minister of Education and the government’s second most important figure.Jean-Noël Barrot remains as the foreign affairs minister.Gérald Darmanin, former Minister of the Interior, becomes the new justice minister.Bruno Retailleau remains as the minister of the interior.Manuel Valls, former prime minister under former president François Hollande, becomes minister for overseas territories.Sébastien Lecornu remains the minister of the armed forces.Rachida Dati remains the minister of culture.Eric Lombard becomes the new minister for the economy.François Rebsamen, a former minister under François Hollande, becomes the new minister of territories and decentralisation.The goal of the new cabinet is to survive long enough in office until new parliamentary elections can be called next summer.France has been in a political quagmire since French President Emmanuel Macron called for snap elections in the summer after his centrist party lost to the far right in the EU elections. Since then, the country’s lower house of parliament has been deadlocked with three distinct blocs unwilling to work together. A key challenge for Bayrou’s cabinet is securing approval for the country’s 2025 budget.Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, was ousted less than three months into his tenure after attempting to pass the social security budget without a parliamentary vote, a move that led to his downfall under Macron’s administration.The hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) had already announced its intention to file a no-confidence vote against the new government.The composition of the government was heavily criticised by multiple figures as giving too much power to the far right. Xavier Bertrand, a leading figure of the conservatives, said he turned down a position under Bayrou posting on his X account (formerly Twitter) that he “refuses to participate in a French government formed with the approval of Marine Le Pen.” Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party (PS) hit back at Bayrou’s choices calling the new cabinet “a provocation.” The new prime minister failed to negotiate with the more moderate Socialists to attempt to form a government and avoid a potential no-confidence vote.The first Council of Ministers is set to meet on 3 January, while the National Assembly remains closed until 13 January, when a confidence vote can be held.
