François Bayrou was appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron this Friday, after a morning full of twists and turns. The former mayor of Pau was initially rejected by the President of the Republic during an interview at the Elysée, before threatening to shatter the coalition in the Assembly.
The suspense will have been total. François Bayrou was named Prime Minister this Friday by Emmanuel Macron, after a turbulent morning and an unprecedented turnaround. Expected then almost unwanted, the boss of Modem ended up obtaining the coveted position at the head of government.
It all starts early in the day when François Bayrou arrives at the Elysée Palace by car. He was then one of the favorites for Matignon, but the president had already warned him that he would not be named Prime Minister according to The World. According to information from the political service of RMCFrançois Bayrou knew last night that he was going to speak with Emmanuel Macron.
An interview that does not go as planned
From the first moments, the meeting promises to be complicated, with François Bayrou’s vehicle taking time to pass the security cordon. Several minutes pass before the obstacle is passed…
Arriving safely, François Bayrou finally speaks with the President of the Republic. But the discussion does not go as planned for the former mayor of Pau. Received at 8:30 this morning, the Head of State announced to the mayor of Pau that he intended to appoint Sébastien Lecornu, reports a MoDem executive to RMC.
François Bayrou retorts: “When I supported you, we committed to doing big things and not small things.” He then warns Emmanuel Macron about his “independence” and a potential “exit” of his deputies (36) from the common base. At the end of the interview which lasted 1 hour 45 minutes, the High Commissioner for Planning was unable to know whether or not he was going to land at Matignon.
The complete Estelle Midi from Friday December 13, 2024
“People were perhaps afraid of François Bayrou’s freedom”
Even in the camp of the former mayor of Pau, there are doubts. “People were perhaps afraid of François Bayrou’s freedom”, Modem deputy Richard Ramos tries to explain afterwards on RMC and RMC Story. “It was complicated because a lot of people, including in his camp, didn’t want to see him arrive as a ‘free man’.”
The free man will finally bend Emmanuel Macron, who ends up appointing François Bayrou Prime Minister via a press release sent at 12:42 p.m. It would be 15 minutes after the end of the interview that Emmanuel Macron called him to announce his choice, according to information from the RMC political service.
It is now up to him to “dialogue” with parties outside the LFI and RN to “find the conditions of stability” while avoiding the already announced censorship of the Insoumis.
Guillaume Dussourt with Hélène Terzian
