Sawt Falasteen - France kept on tenterhooks over new government

The 73-year-old centrist, appointed on December 13 after the fall of a short-lived conservative-led government, is aiming to name a new government by Christmas. Some observers predict Bayrou will struggle to survive.

Macron, who returned Sunday from a visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte and East Africa, spoke with Bayrou twice on Sunday and scheduled a face-to-face meeting for Sunday evening.

But a member of Macron's team told AFP the cabinet list would not be announced Sunday. The source did not say when the names would be unveiled.

- 'Progress' -

Bayrou, head of the MoDem party which is allied to Macron's party, pressed ahead with consultations over the weekend.

"We are making progress," Marc Fesneau of MoDem said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche.

Bayrou's immediate priority is to make sure his government can survive a no-confidence vote and passes a budget for next year.

He is hoping to bring in figures from the left, right and centre to protect his government from possible censure.

The minority government of Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, relied on support from Macron's centrist camp and his own conservative Les Republicains party.

But the far right and left wing joined forces this month to eject Barnier from office, making him the shortest-lasting prime minister in France's Fifth Republic, which began in 1958.

Barnier was brought down over his failure to win support for a budget to shore up France's shaky finances with spending cuts and tax rises to reduce the deficit.

The fate of top posts remained uncertain but former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, former interior minister Gerald Darmanin, and Xavier Bertrand, the right-wing head of the northern Hauts-de-France region, have been mentioned as possible members of Bayrou's team.

Outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a conservative who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, was expected to keep his job however.

Right-wing Culture Minister Rachida Dati and Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu might also keep their jobs.

French politics has been deadlocked since Macron gambled on snap elections this year. The move backfired, with no party or alliance securing a majority.

Many commentators are already predicting Bayrou's premiership will be short-lived.

Bayrou is the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate, and the fourth of 2024.

- Historically low rating -

He has endured a tumultuous first week as premier, after facing criticism for attending a hall meeting in his home city of Pau, where he is mayor, while Mayotte grappled with the deadly aftermath of Cyclone Chido.

A new poll carried out by Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche weekly found 66 percent of respondents were unhappy with his performance.

Only 34 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the new head of government.

Going to back to 1959, Ifop said it had not seen such a low rating for a prime minister getting started in the job.

Bayrou has warned of the peril ahead if his government falls.

"If we fail in this attempt, then this is the last stop before the cliff," he said.

Hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party (LFI) has vowed to table a motion of no confidence when Bayrou gives a policy speech to parliament on January 14.

National Rally deputy leader Sebastien Chenu told BFMTV on Sunday that the far-right party was "not going to vote for a motion of censure immediately."

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M.Qasim--SF-PST