France: Prime Minister François Bayrou names his government

After ten days of discussions, the new Prime Minister François Bayrou has reached a government line-up: 35 ministers (14 ministers and 21 deputy ministers) were appointed on Monday December 23.

This new government follows on from that of Michel Barnier, censured by the National Assembly on December 4: of the 35 ministers appointed on Monday, 19 were already part of the government team.

A number of key figures from the President’s party return to government: Gérald Darmanin, former Minister of the Interior, moves to Justice; Elisabeth Borne, former Prime Minister, to National Education; and Aurore Bergé to Equality between Women and Men. Amélie de Montchalin, a three-time minister under Emmanuel Macron, becomes Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, replacing Laurent Saint-Martin. The presidential party has 12 ministries, one more than in the Barnier government. The MoDem, chaired by François Bayrou, has two ministries (Foreign Affairs and Relations with Parliament), compared with three under the Barnier government. The Republicans obtained six ministries, compared with 10 in the previous government. François Bayrou failed to recruit from the ranks of the left but appointed three former ministers of François Hollande: Manuel Valls, François Rebsamen, and Juliette Méadel.

The appointment of Manuel Valls as Minister for Overseas France has been widely commented upon. Almost absent from French political life for the past six years, the former Prime Minister makes a surprise return to this government.

Among the personalities from civil society: Éric Lombard becomes Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. A graduate of the HEC business school, this former associate of Michel Sapin has headed the Caisse des Dépôts for the past seven years, after spending part of his career at BNP Paribas.

On BMTV, François Bayrou refutes “any influence” of the RN on the composition of the government. As under Michel Barnier, Marine Le Pen’s group finds itself in the referee position.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou said he was “convinced” the National Assembly would not censure him. “I am convinced that the action I am defining before you and the government team will ensure that we will not be censured”, he declared on BFMTV.

The first Council of Ministers meeting will take place on Friday January 3 at 10am.

François Bayrou is due to deliver his general policy speech to Parliament on January 14.

Among the urgent matters to be tackled: the adoption of a “special law” to help rebuild the department of Mayotte, severely hit by cyclone Chido, and the adoption of the budget for 2025. A “special law” was adopted as a matter of urgency and promulgated to authorize the executive to levy taxes and borrow to finance the State and Social Security. François Bayrou said he hoped to adopt a budget “in mid-February”.