François Bayrou, often consulted by Emmanuel Macron to choose the Prime Minister but never appointed, is again in the running for Matignon. His chances seem serious and his meeting with the Head of State this Thursday, December 5 raises questions.
“He’s in the race. He’s still in the race anyway,” slipped a presidential party executive to the Parisian about François Bayrou. The head of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) is once again cited among the possible future tenants of Matignon after the censorship of the Barnier government. This close advisor to Emmanuel Macron is systematically considered as a serious option before the appointment of a Prime Minister since the arrival of the Head of State at the Elysée, but he also takes full part in discussions behind the scenes.
Like this Thursday, December 5 with a one-on-one lunch with the President of the Republic revealed by The Parisian. Certainly, Emmanuel Macron spoke with other personalities, including Yaël Braun-Pivet and Gérard Larcher, but François Bayrou is the only one in the running to become Prime Minister. The key is to know whether during the meeting the President offered him the position or simply asked his opinion on another candidate. François Bayrou has always been overtaken in the race at Matignon. But at a time of a lasting political crisis, a President lacking a sufficient majority and a tripartite Assembly, François Bayrou could be one of the best options for the appointment of a Prime Minister.
At 73 years old and with a long political career behind him, François Bayrou has mastered the mysteries of power and enjoys a certain aura in the political sphere. The centrist, if he supports and is allied with the presidential party although he has distanced himself in recent years, is considered by a large part of the National Assembly. He actually seems able to open dialogue with most political families, and therefore has a chance of succeeding where former Prime Minister Michel Barnier failed: building a coalition majority or at least united by a pact. of non-censorship.
Bayrou at the head of a “disinterested and pluralist government”?
While the RN got the better of the previous government by voting for censorship, François Bayrou should not be vetoed by the far right confirms Franceinfo And BFMTV. The boss of the MoDem, if he does not agree with Marine Le Pen, has always had a form of respect for the leader of the RN. He also sponsored the MP during the last presidential election in the name of plurality and recently deplored the fact that a sentence of ineligibility was pronounced against the elected official as part of the trial of the RN parliamentary assistants. Signs which suggest that a dialogue is possible, not that it will succeed.
François Bayrou, as a good centrist, could also resume discussions between the central bloc and the PS and the rest of the left, with the exception of LFI? He risks encountering some difficulties with certain right-wing personalities. Within the Republicans, several are still angry with him for having abandoned Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 and could oppose his arrival at Matignon. But Laurent Wauquiez assured France 2 this Thursday, December 5 that its elected officials “will not bring down” the government, even if they do not participate in it. Could resentment be overcome?
For months, he has been pleading for the formation of a “disinterested, pluralist and coherent government” made up of “personalities of character” without specifying the political sides who could or could not take part in it, as recalled Le Figaro. As for taking the lead, François Bayrou would not say no as the head of the centrist group in the Assembly, Marc Fesneau, recognized on France Inter : “Obviously François Bayrou is in this frame of mind, but it’s not just a question of the man.”
Reluctance among the Macronists
If François Bayrou appears able to secure the support of enough deputies to avoid censorship, his possible appointment as Prime Minister is not unanimous among Macronists. Several executives of the presidential party fear that the centrist will claim too much independence and freedom in relation to Emmanuel Macron’s policies in the event of disagreements. The septuagenarian has already openly expressed his opposition to the head of state, despite their alliance, which is rare in Macronie. A behavior which has earned him a certain reputation and some go so far as to consider him as “a complete pain in the ass” like someone close to the Head of State at Parisian. “And Macron knows it,” adds the same person. A reputation which could earn him to stay once again in front of the doors of Matignon.