New French Prime Minister Bayrou to Meet Parliamentary Leaders

PARIS (Reuters) – New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will meet with the heads of parliamentary groups on Monday and Tuesday, starting with Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National, as he told La Tribune Dimanche in an interview.

Bayrou, who was appointed on Friday, is the fourth person to serve as French prime minister this year. His task will be to guide a 2025 budget through the fractious parliament, a role that led to the downfall of his predecessor, Michel Barnier, whose three-month tenure was the shortest in modern French history.

The meetings will occur in order of party size. Le Pen's Rassemblement National won the most seats during President Emmanuel Macron's snap election in June but did not secure a majority. The largest bloc is a leftist alliance known as the New Popular Front.

Bayrou stated, "My first job is to be a builder and, failing that, a repairman."

Barnier attempted to implement tax increases on corporations and wealthy individuals to reduce a deficit expected to reach 6% of Gross Domestic Product by the year's end. He struggled to find a parliamentary majority for this plan, with Le Pen arguing that Barnier should have better addressed her party's concerns.

After attempting to pass the bill without majority support, Barnier faced a no-confidence vote from far-right and left politicians and subsequently resigned.

Adding to the challenges, credit rating agency Moody's downgraded France unexpectedly on Friday from "Aa2" to "Aa3," citing that the next government would likely not make significant cuts to the deficit, projecting weaker public finances over the next three years than previously anticipated.