France’s new Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, will meet with parliamentary group leaders on Monday and Tuesday, starting with Marine Le Pen from the far-right Rassemblement National. Bayrou shared this plan during an interview with La Tribune Dimanche.
Appointed on Friday, Bayrou is the fourth person to serve as French Prime Minister this year. His primary task is to navigate the 2025 budget through a divided parliament — a challenge that led to the downfall of his predecessor, Michel Barnier. Barnier’s three-month term was the shortest in modern French history.
Bayrou will meet party leaders in order of their parliamentary strength. Le Pen’s Rassemblement National holds the most seats after President Emmanuel Macron’s snap election in June, though it failed to secure a majority. The largest bloc, however, is the leftist alliance known as the New Popular Front.
“My first job is to be a builder and, failing that, a repairman,” Bayrou told the newspaper. Barnier had aimed to reduce France’s deficit, projected to hit 6% of GDP this year, by increasing taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. However, he failed to secure parliamentary support. Le Pen criticized him for not addressing her party’s concerns.
