Barely appointed to Matignon, François Bayrou is “on an ejection seat”

Michel Barnier’s lease at the Hôtel de Matignon did not last three months. What will happen to his successor, François Bayrou, “old veteran of politics and ally of Macron?” asks theIrish Times. Normally a source of political desire, the current position of Prime Minister could well be “a poisoned gift that Macron prepared for him”, comments the Irish newspaper. Indeed, given the political divisions which precipitated the fall of his predecessor on December 4, “Bayrou will have to play the balancing act”, continues the daily life.

The BBC also agrees to note the scope of François Bayrou’s profile – “one of the most experienced politicians in the French landscape” – and to underline the insufficiency of such baggage to overcome the challenges that await it, because “if François Bayrou enjoys the respect of the entire political class, on the right and on the left, it is difficult to imagine how he will be able to avoid the traps that got the better of his predecessor”.

The British broadcasting service, however, recalls that Emmanuel Macron’s short-lived Minister of Justice (barely one month in 2017) has a relationship “imprint of respect” with Marine Le Pen, the latter having supported her as mayor of Pau during her search for signatures to run for the last