The new government of Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a frantic fortnight as it battles to establish its credibility and fend off cross-party attempts to kill it in its infancy.
"I am confident that the policies I am outlining and the government team I have formed will ensure we are not censured," declared Bayrou just hours after announcing his cabinet on Monday evening.
Bayrou, 73, a canny operator who styles himself as a centrist, is President Emmanuel Macron's fourth Prime Minister of 2024.
His predecessor, Michel Barnier left office on 8 December after three months in post following a parliamentary deal between the far right and left to oust him.
The pact furnished him with the infamy of being the premier with the shortest tenure since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958.
French PM Bayrou defends choices to lead country out of 'difficult situation'
Bayrou and his cohorts could face a similar fate.
"None of the conditions of the no-confidence pact have been met in the composition of this new government," Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said.
He indicated that his group might vote for a motion of no confidence as early as 14 January, when Bayrou delivers his policy statement.
Former Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne – handed the education portfolio – and Manuel Valls as Overseas Territories Minister, will be under close scrutiny along with the former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The newly anointed Justice Minister has pledged to work hand in hand with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, one of 19 ministers from Barnier's government of Barnier who have been retained.
Tackling the deficit
Borne, who stepped down as Prime Minister in January after 20 months in the job, struck a pragmatic tone.
"I am the sixth Education Minister in just over two and a half years, and I am fully aware of the challenges and expectations of the education community," she said.
She said she wanted to halt the rise in incivility, insults, and violence as well as the breaches of secularism in schools.
Eric Lombard, the former head of the public financial institution Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, appears to have been given the poisoned chalice as Economy Minister.
After his appointment he identified the deficit as an endemic problem.
France's politicians are confronting a national debt, which reached 113.7 percent of GDP (€3.303 trillion) by the end of September.
Barnier had hoped to lower the public deficit from 6.1 percent of GDP this year to 5 percent by the end of 2025.
Lombard and Bayrou must steer a 2025 budget that tackles the same grim statistics through the National Assembly fully aware that Barnier's attempt to consider the realities led to his downfall on 4 December.
Bayrou at least found some solace. Just before Christmas, three employer organisations and four of the five main unions, jointly highlighted the economic and social risks of instability.
France's new economy, budget ministers get to work on budget for 2025
A 'provocation'
The far-right Rassemblement National (RN), the largest group in the National Assembly, has signalled it will not initially oppose the new government.
The centre-right Les Républicains (LR) party, expressed conditional support. Party leader Laurent Wauquiez described LR’s backing as highly demanding and warned it could be withdrawn depending on Bayrou’s direction.
However, Faure has labelled it a far-right administration and a provocation.
"It's not a government, it's a provocation," Faure said on social media. "The extreme right in power under the watchful eye of the extreme right."
Marine Le Pen, the RN chief, warned on Tuesday that the days of France's new government are numbered, predicting a presidential election in a few months instead of 2027.
After his policy statement, Bayrou expects a motion of no confidence to be tabled by the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI).
Bayrou, who leads the MoDem party, will need to deploy his fabled skills as a convenor and a charmer not only to survive a tad longer than Barnier but also prevent his country from descending into further political chaos.
(With newswires)
