Prime Minister François Bayrou promised, Thursday, December 19, to present his government “before Christmas” and called on the parties, excluding RN and LFI, to say by “Friday at midday” whether they were willing to enter it. François Bayrou is trying to attract the left and said he was ready, during an interview on France 2 on Thursday evening, to “resume without suspending” the flammable pension reform. The clock is ticking for the tenant of Matignon, who said he wanted a vote on the budget “in February”.
Information to remember:
⇒ Political forces must decide on their participation in government
⇒ François Bayrou ready to compromise on pension reform with the left
⇒ 65% of French people dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s debut
07:30
A majority of French people dissatisfied with Bayrou’s first steps
Sixty-five percent of French people judge that François Bayrou’s debut as Prime Minister is “unsatisfactory”, compared to 34% who find them satisfactory (1% not commenting), according to an Odoxa-Backbone Consulting survey for Le Figaro published Thursday evening.
An identical proportion thinks that François Bayrou was wrong to go to a municipal council on Monday in Pau, of which he is mayor, rather than in Mayotte, ravaged by a cyclone. The Prime Minister enters Matignon with a fairly low level of popularity: 42% good opinions. In comparison, Michel Barnier arrived at this position with a more comfortable position: 57% in September.
The French also do not trust him to appoint a government that meets their expectations (65% no).
07:15
The parties must say this Friday whether or not they will participate in the new government
The Prime Minister spoke on France 2 a few hours after a summit meeting in Matignon with party leaders (excluding LFI and RN) and presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate. To the officials gathered around the table, he promised a government appointment “before Christmas”, even hoping for it “during the weekend”. And asked his interlocutors for a response on their participation in the government by Friday “at midday”, to clarify the positions of everyone and in particular of the Republicans, who have still not formalized their choice.
In a group meeting a little later, the boss of LR deputies Laurent Wauquiez actually affirmed that the outgoing LR ministers, like Bruno Retailleau or Annie Genevard, considered that the conditions were “rather ripe to continue”. While asking for “a new exchange” with the Prime Minister to have “clarifications”, according to his entourage. A pledge to the LR on the part of François Bayrou, the latter publicly said he wanted Bruno Retailleau to remain in his post at the Interior.
On the left in any case, the meeting at Matignon did not seem to convince, far from it. “We haven’t found any reason not to censor it.” “The Prime Minister, and those around him, really need to wake up,” declared PS first secretary Olivier Faure. “I am still waiting for François Bayrou to take on the role of Prime Minister. But I wonder if he will succeed,” added the leader of the environmentalist senators, Guillaume Gontard, the communists choosing for their part a position “of ‘resolute opposition’.
07:00
François Bayrou ready to compromise on pension reform
“An open door in good faith”: without masking his intention to rally a part of the left or to push it not to censor him, the new Prime Minister proposed Thursday evening on France 2 to think about “a different organization” of the pension scheme by September.
He said he “believes” that there is an alternative to the legal age of 64, a major irritant of the latest reform adopted in 2023, but “does not believe” that the latter can ultimately be purely and simply repealed. Attempting to reach out to the left, the tenant of Matignon also promised not to use the weapon of 49.3, “unless there is an absolute blockage on the budget” for 2025, currently suspended. A budget that he “hopes” to achieve “by mid-February”, a very ambitious deadline given parliamentary imperatives.