François Bayrou, a centrist tenor at Matignon

6 mins

He dreamed of the Élysée, it was ultimately Matignon. François Bayrou73, was named Prime Minister this Friday by the president of the Republic“ a position he dreamed of for many years and for which he made sacrifices », Notes Virginie Martin, political scientist. For seven years, this early support from Emmanuel Macron has proven to be a solid ally. “ He helped and supported Emmanuel Macron a lot from the first hour. He is a faithful and conceptual architect of what Macronism is or is not », adds the political scientist. He played an informal but crucial role with Emmanuel Macron. Systematically consulted, he benefited from fairly broad freedom of speech. If his character is legendary, François Bayrou never hesitated to slam doors to defend his ideas. He notably criticized the forceps adoption in 2023 of a reform of the pension system, as central to the French president as it is unpopular. “ He’s a fairly complex character. His temperament is quite sanguine and he knows how to show it », recalls Valérie Gas, head of the political department of RFI. Like in 2002, where in the middle of the presidential campaign, François Bayrou slapped a child whom he accused of picking his pockets.

If his name appeared on the list of candidates most serious for Matignon, the rise of François Bayrou to this position comes after decades of political life in leading positions, but also marked by failures. Until now, he held the position of High Commissioner for Planning and was mayor of Pau. The president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) is a singular figure in the French political landscape, “ he is said to be a centrist but he claims to be central in the French political scene », adds Valérie Gas. Renowned for having a fairly high opinion of himself, in a political class already little inclined to modesty, Bayrou commands respect, including among his adversaries. The statesman strongly believes in decentralization and is a strong supporter of Europe.

Rural roots

Deeply attached to his Béarnaise roots, this son of a farmer claims to belong to a France of territories, that of the countryside. Before his debut in politics, François Bayrou, an associate professor of classical literature, worked briefly as a teacher before turning to politics. Municipal councilor, general councilor, deputy then MEP, the Béarnais has climbed all the ranks in the lands where he was born. Married and father of six children, the septuagenarian who suffered from stuttering for a long time, cut his teeth as an activist for President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. But it was in 1982 that this veteran of French politics embarked on his career by first becoming general councilor of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques then deputy for the Union for French Democracy (UDF), a center-right party. François Bayrou then established himself as a separate voice in the centrist family.

In 1993, he entered the national political scene by becoming Minister of National Education under the cohabitation government of Édouard Balladur. He held this position until the dissolution of the National Assembly by Jacques Chirac in 1997. If his mandate on rue de Grenelle is one of the longest of the Fifth Republic, the latter remains marked by the aborted attempt, under the pressure from the street, to reform the Falloux law on the financing of private schools.

Three failures in the presidential election

In August 2001, while he was president of the UDF, François Bayrou already positioned himself as a precursor in overcoming the right-left divide by defending against all odds the idea of ​​an independent political center, in a country traditionally divided between right and left. At this time, the MEP was preparing to announce his candidacy for the 2002 presidential election. His presidential election campaign got off to a difficult start and he ultimately came in fourth place in the first round. His refusal to join the UMP in 2002 led to his first defections from the centrist family.

François Bayrou tried his luck again in 2007 and created a surprise by obtaining a historic score of 18.6% and placed in third position. He then refused to support Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. A few months later, he founded the MoDem, a party that he wants to be central to the political scene and that he clearly claims as an opposition party in power of the new president Nicolas Sarkozy. “ The rivalry and opposition between the two men has long fueled the chronicle of political life », notes Valérie Gas. He will remain president of MoDem until today.

After the first round of the 2007 presidential election, a decline followed after several failures in the legislative, municipal, European and regional elections. François Bayrou came out of crossing the desert in 2012 by embarking on his third race at the Élysée. He campaigned in particular on the reduction of debt and the reindustrialization of France, but positioned himself in fifth place in the first round.

A risky bet in 2017

In 2017, he withdrew from the presidential race and chose to support Emmanuel Macron, then an outsider in national politics. This once again risky bet paid off. Emmanuel Macron’s victory allows François Bayrou to regain a central place. The mayor of Pau is appointed Minister of State, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice. After 34 days, he quickly left the government in 2017, because of a preliminary investigation of the Paris public prosecutor’s office in the case of European parliamentary assistants. Justice suspects him of being the organizer of a fraudulent system aimed at using European funds to pay parliamentary assistants who in reality worked for the centrist party in Paris. François Bayrou was indicted in December 2019 before being tried in 2023. If his party was heavily condemned in February 2024, the court pronounced its relaxedbut the prosecution appeals.

If he was one of those who discreetly advised the head of state, François Bayrou has now returned to the forefront. In a nod to History, this fervent admirer of Henry IV became head of government on the anniversary of the birth of the most famous Béarnais king in History. A king he cited for his first speech in his new post, during which he praised the “ reconciliation “.

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