French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to name a new prime minister on Thursday following two days of meetings with party leaders aimed at selecting a candidate capable of bridging political divides and addressing France’s spiraling budget crisis. The meetings notably excluded representatives from the far-right National Rally and the hard-left France Unbowed parties, underscoring the tense political landscape.
This announcement comes after the dramatic ousting of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic no-confidence vote last week. The vote, triggered by Barnier’s controversial use of a parliamentary “nuclear option” to pass the 2025 budget without legislative approval, saw an unlikely alliance between the left-wing New Popular Front coalition and the far-right National Rally. This marks the first time in over six decades that a French government has been toppled by such a vote.
Potential candidates for the role include Macron ally François Bayrou, former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and current Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Other rumored contenders are former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Les Républicains member François Baroin, and French central bank chief François Villeroy de Galhau.
France’s political crisis is further exacerbated by its growing budget deficit, which now stands at 6.1%, far exceeding earlier forecasts. Macron’s office has indicated that a temporary budget law to ensure government functionality will be debated in December, adding urgency to the nomination of a new head of government capable of navigating the nation through this turbulent period.
