PARIS (Reuters) – New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche newspaper that he will meet with the heads of parliamentary blocs on Monday and Tuesday, starting with Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party.
Bayrou, whose appointment on Friday makes him the fourth person to serve as French prime minister this year, will be responsible for guiding the 2025 budget through the divided parliament. This was the same mission that ultimately ousted his predecessor, Michel Barnier, whose three-month term was the shortest in modern French history.
Bayro meetings will be held according to the size of the parties. Le Pen's National Rally party won most of the seats when President Emmanuel Macron called early elections in June, but failed to obtain a majority.
A leftist coalition called the New Popular Front forms the largest bloc.
“My first job is to be a builder, and if I can't do that, to be a reformer,” Bayrou told the newspaper.
Barnier sought to implement tax increases on companies and wealthy individuals to reduce the deficit, which is expected to reach 6% of GDP by the end of this year. He was unable to find a parliamentary majority to support the plan, with Le Pen saying Barnier should have done more to accommodate her party's concerns.
After Barnier sought to pass the bill without a majority vote, far-right and left-wing lawmakers supported a vote of no confidence, and he resigned.
Credit rating agency Moody's (NYSE:) gave France an unexpected downgrade late on Friday, to 'Aa3' from 'Aa2', saying the next government is unlikely to meaningfully reduce the country's deficit and that public finances will be weaker during… Next year. Three years from the October base scenario.
