French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Francois Bayrou as the country’s new prime minister. This is reported by the AFP news agency. Bayrou takes over from Michel Barnier. The latter had to resign after a motion of no confidence earlier in December, which led France into yet another political crisis. Barnier was only in office for three months. Bayrou is 73 years old and leads the centrist Democratic Movement (Modem) party. He has previously stood for election as a presidential candidate in three elections, most recently in 2012. He is currently the mayor of the city of Pau in south-west France. Bayrou has previously been Minister of Education and Minister of Justice. He had to resign as Minister of Justice when his party was accused of embezzling public grants. The political situation in France has been tense and uncertain after the elections this summer, because none of the political wings got a clear majority.
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