The 73-year-old Bayrou will replace the conservative Michel Barnier, who resigned last week after the far-right and left-wing votes of no confidence in the government.
Macron originally wanted to appoint a new prime minister already on Thursday evening, but in the end he postponed the decision until Friday morning, when he held talks with Bayrou for almost two hours.
Among the candidates for Prime Minister, the media often mentioned Bernard Cazeneuve, who already led the government for half a year in 2016 and 2017.
The Elysee Palace also offered the position to former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. But he told the weekly newspaper Le Penthièvre on Thursday that he refused the post of prime minister. “It was offered to me, but I refused. In two and a half years I will be 80 years old,” noted Le Drian.
Barnier was in office for a quarter of a year. The vote of no confidence in the minority government in the parliament did not stop last Monday after he tried to pass the budget for the next year without the support of the parliament on the grounds that the country needs to stabilize public finances and reduce their deficit. The French government fell in this way for the first time since 1962.
The first Mass after the devastating fire was held in the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral
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