Live: French President Emmanuel Macron to name new prime minister

Possible contenders for PM

Macron ally François Bayrou has been tipped as a possible choice for prime minister. Bayrou is a former justice minister acquitted this year of embezzling EU funds.

Other candidates include former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian or current Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu – both members of Macron’s Renaissance party – as well as former prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve of the Socialist Party.

Macron ally Catherine Vautrin, who the president has considered for PM in the past; François Baroin, a member of Les Républicains who has served as both interior and economy minister; and French central bank chief François Villeroy de Galhau are also reportedly in the running.

How did we get here?

Following a victory by the far right in June’s European elections, Macron dissolved the National Assembly, France’s lower house, and called a snap parliamentary vote. While the leftist New Popular Front coalition won the most seats, no party ended up winning an outright majority.

After two months of tense ambivalence, Macron appointed a new prime minister in early September. Michel Barnier, a former foreign minister and Brexit negotiator, spearheaded France’s new government – which turned out to be dominated by conservatives and centrists.

Fast-forward three months and everything crumbled, yet again. After Barnier evoked a rarely used article (known as the “nuclear option”) to push through his unpopular 2025 budget without a parliamentary vote, both the left-wing New Popular Front alliance and the far-right National Rally tabled votes of no confidence.

Both succeeded, toppling Barnier and his government. It was the first time a French government has fallen to a no-confidence vote in more than 60 years and earned Barnier the dubious title of modern France’s shortest-serving prime minister.

Read more: Why the French government is headed for collapse

• The nomination of a new PM comes after Macron held two days of meetings with party leaders to agree on a candidate who can bridge divides and pass a budget for next year. The meetings at the Élysée Palace excluded both the far-right National Rally party and the hard-left France Unbowed.
• Prime Minister Michel Barnier was toppled in a no-confidence vote last week when a leftist alliance and the far right joined forces to oust him after he pushed his unpopular budget bill through parliament without a vote. Barnier, who was supported by the conservative Les Républicains and Macron’s centre-right camp, remains in a caretaker capacity. 
• France’s political crisis stems from its growing budget deficit, which stands at 6.1% – up from 5.5% last year and exceeding the 4.4% forecast for end of 2024. Macron’s office has said a stopgap 2025 budget law to allow the French state to keep functioning will be debated in December.