France waits to make government news because Prime Minister Bayrou has difficulty getting the parliament to agree.
- Bayrou wants backing for a new government from people of all groups.
- The splits in parliament got worse after the snap polls.
As France waits to appoint its new administration in honor of the storm-devastated island of Mayotte, political uncertainty increases.
Newly elected Prime Minister François Bayrou is under a lot of pressure to put together a government that can survive a vote of no confidence in the middle of January and meet the February 2025 budget date.
Cyclone Chido destroyed France’s Indian Ocean region of Mayotte. There are fears that it will cause a huge number of deaths, so the government has decided not to make an announcement until after 6 p.m. on Monday.
In the meantime, Bayrou is still having a hard time getting everyone in-house to agree on something.
Bayrou’s plan to create a government that works for people of all political views has not been completed.
Strong opposition from the left has stalled his plan to include both the Socialist Party on the left and Les Républicains on the right.
A lot of people are worried that his government will fail just like Michel Barnier’s did, whose government was overthrown after only three months because people didn’t like the budget changes.
Why is it so hard for Bayrou to put together a government?
- There is no party or group that holds a majority in the house.
- There are still disagreements between the left-wing and right-wing groups.
- Gains for the far right have put more pressure on coalitions of moderates.
- The fact that people are unhappy with Bayrou hurts his reputation.
Bayrou asked Les Républicains to work together by describing suggested changes to security and the budget in a letter.
Still, it doesn’t look like he will be successful because most people are unhappy with his position (64% of recent poll respondents said they were unhappy with it).
To make things even more frustrating, President Emmanuel Macron’s move to end the political deadlock by calling early polls has further split parliament, so there is no clear alliance with a majority.
Without help from across parties, Bayrou’s administration will have a hard time not only putting together a government but also keeping things stable as problems in the public and parliament get worse.