French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed the appointment of a new prime minister until Friday morning, French media reported on Thursday, citing Macron’s office.
Last week’s vote of no confidence saw the resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, whose government was supported only by Macron’s centrist camp and Barnier’s own conservative “political family.”
Macron will now have to solve a complex political equation that emerged from the snap parliamentary elections in July: how to defend the government against a vote of no confidence in a lower house split three ways between the left-wing Alliance, the centrists and conservatives, and the Rassemblement Nationale.
Marine Tondelier, head of The Ecologists party, today urged Macron to “step out of his comfort zone” while he mulls over a name. She said:
“The French public wants some enthusiasm, momentum, a fresh wind, something new.”
During the search for a new prime minister, it’s as much about politics as it is about personalities. The parties invited by Macron on Tuesday – from conservative Republicans to Socialists, Greens and Communists – are deeply divided.
As some have suggested, Macron may choose the experienced centrist politician François Bayrou, who is frowned upon by both the left and the right, to be the new prime minister. For the left, he would epitomise the continuation of Macron’s current policies, French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said.
In addition, Bayrou dislikes former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who still has influence on the right and is reportedly favoured by Macron.
Other contenders include former interior minister and Socialist Party prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, current defence minister and Macron supporter Sébastien Lecornu or former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Tondelier added:
“These are not names to seduce the French. They are the past. I want us to look to the future.”
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the party Debout la France (France Arise), wrote on X:
“Emmanuel Macron is further and further postponing the decision to appoint a prime minister. This institutional and political deadlock demands his resignation. The French people must vote!”
