French PM names new government, hoping to avoid another no-confidence vote
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Centrist François Bayrou had promised a ‘national interest government’ across the middle political ground but ended up leaning to the conservative right. The French prime minister has announced his new government – the country’s fourth since the beginning of the year – in the hope his administration can see off another vote of no confidence from a bitterly divided parliament.
There is a mix of old and new in François Bayrou’s government, which includes several familiar faces: the former interior minister Gérald Darmanin has been appointed justice minister; the former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, a technocrat, returns to government as education secretary, while another former prime minister, Manuel Valls – who served under the socialist president François Hollande, has been appointed overseas minister.
Jean-Noël Barrot will remain as foreign secretary, while the right-winger Bruno Retailleau has been reappointed interior minister. Éric Lombard, a former banker, will head up the economy ministry while Sébatien Lecornu stays on in the defence ministry and Rachida Dati as the culture minister.
With many leading political figures looking forward to the 2027 presidential elections and reluctant to gamble their chances on a government that is likely to fall within weeks or be paralysed until a new general election can be held next summer, Bayrou – appointed by Emmanuel Macron 10 days ago – has struggled to find those willing to join his government.
