In France, François Bayrou was appointed Prime Minister this Friday, December 13. He is therefore responsible for forming a government. The mayor of Pau and president of MoDem will soon have to negotiate with the parties, excluding Rassemblement national and Insoumis, participation in the government, their support for certain texts, including the budget, or, at a minimuma “non-censorship” agreement, before composing his team. What are the hot issues awaiting the new Prime Minister?
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The priority task of François Bayrouit is obviously the budget. The old text left in abeyance after the censorship, it will therefore be necessary to resume the drafting of the 2025 finance law. The future government can either resume the budgetary texts which were debated before the censorship, or “rewrite everything from scratch”.
“ It will just be necessary that, unlike Mr. Barnier, he really listens to the reasonable demands of the National Rally: preserving the purchasing power of the French, making structural savings in the State’s lifestyle to reduce our deficit and control public spending », Estimates Thomas Ménage, National Rally (RN) deputy.
The levels of deficits and debt will be “ a reality that will impose itself on any government, whatever it may be », had warned Michel Barnier before being knocked down. While waiting for the new budget to be adopted, a consensual project of “ special law » allowing to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the State will be examined Monday, December 16 by the Assembly, recalls Agence France-Presse.
Pensions and farmers on the table
The new Prime Minister is expected to discuss the pensions issue which divides MPs. On the left, the New Popular Front (NFP) is still demanding the repeal of the reform. As part of a “non-censorship pact” with the central bloc, socialists and communists could possibly agree to a freeze on the law. But they demand compensation.
As a price for their non-censorship, the socialists are asking François Bayrou to commit to renouncing the use of 49.3 – an article of the Constitution which allows a text to be adopted without a vote – and to carry out a ” reorientation of government policy “. The communists expressed a similar position.
François Bayrou will also have to respond to the demands of farmers. The 2025 budget contained several promises made last winter, during their last mobilization. Agricultural unions have warned of a resumption of the movement.
The subject of immigration also continues to be debated. The resigning Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, announced a new text on the subject at the beginning of 2025. The project fell through with the vote on the motion of censure, but continues to be presented as a red line by the National Rally. The objective is to find majorities to vote on the texts. The new Prime Minister will therefore be directly under pressure.
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