Sawt Falasteen - New French PM faces first key parliamentary hurdle

Bayrou, who became France's fourth prime minister in a year when he took office a month ago, faces a huge challenge to get agreement on long-overdue budget plan for 2025 and resolve bitter disputes over a 2023 pension reform.

Like predecessor Michel Barnier, who lasted just three months before being deposed in a no-confidence vote, Bayrou lacks a majority in the National Assembly and could be dispatched just as easily if he fails to win at least tacit backing from enough opposition deputies.

French politics was plunged into chaos last year when President Emmanuel Macron called an election to break political deadlock, but the vote returned a hopelessly divided lower chamber.

A sustainable budget plan for this year is the priority for Bayrou, 73, after Barnier's austerity budget was jettisoned along with his government.

Bayrou has been negotiating with the various blocs, with the far-right and most of the left rejecting deep spending cuts.

But Bayrou is mindful of the need to tackle France's spiralling deficit and growing debt mountain.

His government is under pressure from the European Commission for overspending and from high refinancing costs demanded by financial markets.

Bayrou has concentrated on winning over centre-left Socialist deputies, but no deal has been announced.

"They give the impression of being very active," said Green party leader Marine Tondelier about the government's efforts at compromise. "But the outcome is meagre," she told AFP.

Most observers expect the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party to lodge a no-confidence motion after Bayrou's speech, but this cannot pass without Socialist backing.

Beyond the budget, a 2023 law to reform France's fragile pensions system has most opposition up in arms, with Socialists and other leftist parties demanding it be scrapped.

The plan notably includes a gradual increase in the retirement age to 64 years from 62.

In his traditional New Year speech last month, Macron acknowledged that his decision to dissolve the National Assembly had led to "divisions" and "instability".

Constitutional rules mean new legislative elections cannot be called until July.

Some opponents have called on Macron, who has more than two years of his presidential term left, to resign, but the president has ruled out stepping down before his mandate's end.

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E.Aziz--SF-PST