New PM Francois Bayrou says he knows ‘difficulty’ of France’s situation

France’s new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou says he is well aware of the scale of France’s financial and political problems, comparing the country’s budget deficit to the Himalayan mountain range.

“No one knows better than me the difficulty of the situation,” Bayrou said at a handover ceremony with former Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Friday.

“I am fully aware of the Himalayas that loom ahead of us,” he said of the budget deficit now at 6.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

President Emmanuel Macron named centrist Bayrou as his new prime minister after Barnier was forced by far-right and left-wing lawmakers to step down after just three months in office in a historic no-confidence vote last week.

Bayrou is a well-known figure in French politics whose political experience is seen as key in efforts to restore stability to the country.

The 73-year-old leader of the Democratic Movement (Mouvement Democrate, or MoDem) group, which has been allied to the president’s centrist Renaissance party since he swept to power in 2017.

France’s festering political malaise has raised doubts about whether Macron will complete his second presidential term, which ends in 2027. The president has pledged to stay on “until the end” of his five-year term, until May 2027.

In a critical moment, Le Pen will be judged in an embezzlement trial next year. If convicted, she could lose the opportunity to stand in the 2027 election.

The public appears to be eager for a period of stability in French politics, with just over two-thirds of respondents in an Elabe poll published Wednesday saying they want politicians to reach a deal, not to overthrow a new government.