French president appoints new PM

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed François Bayrou, leader of the centrist Democratic Movement party, as the country's new prime minister.

Bayrou, 73, replaces his fellow 73-year-old Michel Barnier, who resigned following a vote of no confidence in his government by the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) on December 4, according to a communiqué from the Élysée Palace, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Thus, Bayrou is a prominent political figure from southwestern France, often describing himself as a "man of the countryside." A former education minister and mayor of Pau, a town in the southwest, he has been a close ally and trusted confidant of Emmanuel Macron since the latter's rise to power in 2017.

Bayrou becomes the fourth French prime minister this year, as France grapples with a deepening political crisis in a fractured parliament. Barnier's government was dismissed just last week after only three months in office, and Macron is eager to avoid a similar fate for the new administration. Since Macron called a snap election in June that produced inconclusive results, the French parliament has been split into three factions, none holding an absolute majority. 

A left-wing alliance secured the most votes but failed to achieve a majority, Macron's centrist bloc faced losses yet remains intact, and the far-right National Rally gained seats but was prevented from gaining power by tactical voting from the left and center. These divisions persist, and the new prime minister's primary challenge will be to form a government capable of collaborating with parliament to pass a complete budget for 2025.

By Naila Huseynova