The president has struggled to find a candidate who would satisfy enough MPs in a fragmented parliament.
French President Emmanuel Macron will announce the name of his new prime minister on Friday morning. Political stagnation after the dismissal of Michel Barnier last week.
Barnier was overthrown in a vote of confidence on December 4. Although some expected Macron to announce Barnier’s successor a day later, he remained silent and missed another 48-hour deadline for a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday. on thursday, Macron Visited Poland but apparently He shortened his journey to finalize his decision..
The leader strived for this find a candidate who is popular among all members of a divided ParliamentA situation in which no party can gain a majority. The appointee faces the urgent and daunting challenge of pushing a budget deal through Parliament. Since Barnier’s dismissal, many names have replaced him.
Possible candidates for French prime minister
François BayrouThe centrist and staunch ally of Emmanuel Macron is among the favourites. The leader of the Democratic Movement is quite popular, but does not yet have the unanimous support of members of other parties. On the left, Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party, said appointing François Bayrou to Matignon would not be “the right choice”.
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly did not accept Bayrou’s appointment, and there are reports circulating in the local media that Sarkozy was actively lobbying against Bayrou’s appointment.
The relationship between these two, who know each other very well, has been going on for many years. In 2012, Bayrou called for voting for François Hollande against Sarkozy in the second round of the presidential election.
Another favorite is Former leftist prime minister Bertrand Cazeneuve. Although Cazeneuve has the support of many Socialist Party members, including former president François Hollande, he has been criticized by environmentalists. European Ecology – Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the Green party, publicly rejected Cazeneuve’s appointment. For him, Cazeneuve represents “the past”.
Name of Jean-Yves Le DrianA former socialist turned ally of Macron has been suggested as a possible candidate for Prime Minister.
The former defense and foreign minister under Hollande and Macron is one of the few people to have served in the administrations of two presidents. But Drian also faces suspicions from the Socialist Party, which has yet to respond to his possible appointment.
On the more conservative wing of Macron’s coalition, Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister is gaining strength. The Armed Forces Minister, a former member of the right-wing Les Républicains party, is a close ally of Emmanuel Macron.
Lecornu also holds the record for the longest-serving president, having held multiple ministerial posts since the start of Macron’s first term in 2017.
Also spoken Catherine Vautrin. The former Minister of Regional Cooperation and Decentralization, who has a right-wing political background, joined Macron’s side in 2024. She was seen as a strong candidate for the position in 2022, which ultimately fell to Élisabeth Borne.