François Bayrou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids François Bayrou
Bayrou in 2025
Prime Minister of France
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 December 2024
President	Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Michel Barnier
Minister of Justice
In office 17 May 2017 – 19 June 2017
Prime Minister	Édouard Philippe
Preceded by	Jean-Jacques Urvoas
Succeeded by	Nicole Belloubet
Minister of National Education
In office 29 March 1993 – 4 June 1997
Prime Minister	Édouard Balladur Alain Juppé
Preceded by	Jack Lang
Succeeded by	Claude Allègre
Mayor of Pau
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 April 2014
Preceded by	Martine Lignières-Cassou
President of the Democratic Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 December 2007
Preceded by	Position established
President of the European Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 July 2004
Preceded by	Position established
President of the Union for French Democracy
In office 25 February 1998 – 30 November 2007
Preceded by	François Léotard
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Parliamentary offices Member of the National Assembly for Pyrénées-Atlantiques's 2nd constituency In office 19 June 2002 – 19 June 2012 Preceded by Pierre Menjucq Succeeded by Nathalie Chabanne In office 12 June 1997 – 21 December 1999 Preceded by Pierre Laguilhon Succeeded by Pierre Menjucq In office 2 April 1986 – 1 May 1993 Preceded by Majority vote Succeeded by Pierre Laguilhon Member of the European Parliament In office 20 July 1999 – 20 June 2002 Constituency France
Local offices President of the General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques In office 2 April 1992 – 23 March 2001 Preceded by Henri Grenet Succeeded by Jean-Jacques Lasserre Member of the General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques In office 26 March 1982 – 21 March 2008 Preceded by Yves Urieta Succeeded by André Arribes Constituency Canton of Pau-Sud
Personal details
Born	François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (1951-05-25) 25 May 1951 (age 74) Bordères, France
Political party	MoDem (since 2007)
Other political affiliations	CD (until 1976) CDS (1976–1995) FD (1995–1998) UDF (1978–2007)
Spouse	Élisabeth Perlant ​ (m. 1971)​
Children	6
Residences	Hôtel Matignon, Paris
Alma mater	University Bordeaux Montaigne
Signature

François Bayrou (born 25 May 1951) is a French politician. He became the Prime Minister of France in December 2024. He also leads two political parties: the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since 2007.

Bayrou is known as a "centrist" politician. This means his ideas are often in the middle, not too far left or too far right. He ran for president of France three times: in 2002, 2007, and 2012.

Before becoming Prime Minister, Bayrou was the Minister of National Education from 1993 to 1997. He was also a member of the National Assembly (like a parliament) for a region called Pyrénées-Atlantiques. He served there from 1986 to 2012, with some breaks. From 1999 to 2002, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Since 2014, he has been the mayor of Pau.

In 2017, many thought Bayrou would run for president again. However, he chose not to. Instead, he supported Emmanuel Macron. After Macron won, he appointed Bayrou as Minister of State for Justice. Bayrou resigned from this role in June 2017.

On 13 December 2024, President Emmanuel Macron chose François Bayrou to be the new Prime Minister of France. This happened after the previous government, led by Michel Barnier, lost a vote of no confidence.

Early Life and Education

François Bayrou was born on 25 May 1951 in a small village called Bordères in France. His father, Calixte Bayrou, was a farmer and also served as the mayor of Bordères for a few years. His mother was Emma Sarthou. Bayrou's family mainly came from the Occitans people, except for his maternal grandmother, who was Irish.

When he was young, Bayrou had a stutter. He went to speech therapy for seven years to help with it. He first went to high school in Pau, then moved to Bordeaux. He studied literature at university. At 23, he passed a very difficult exam called the "agrégation". This exam allows people to become high-level teachers in French schools and universities. Around this time, his father passed away.

In 1971, Bayrou married Élisabeth Perlant, who is also known as "Babette." They have six children: Hélène, Marie, Dominique, Calixte, Agnès, and another child. The children grew up on the same farm where Bayrou was born. He and Élisabeth still live there today.

Before starting his political career, Bayrou taught history in a region of France called Béarn. He has written several books about politics and history, including one about King Henry IV of France. For fun, Bayrou enjoys raising horses. He is a Roman Catholic but strongly supports France's system of laïcité, which means the separation of government and religious institutions.

Political Journey

First Steps in Politics: 1982–2002

When he was younger, François Bayrou was involved in groups that believed in non-violence. He was inspired by Lanza del Vasto, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

Bayrou joined a political party called the Centre of Social Democrats (CDS). This party was part of a larger group called the Union for French Democracy (UDF). In 1982, he was elected to a local council in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques area. Four years later, he became a member of the French National Assembly, which is like the French parliament.

In 1993, a group of parties called the RPR/UDF won the election. Bayrou then became the Minister of Education. In this role, he suggested a change that would allow local governments to help fund private schools. This idea caused big protests and was later stopped by the Constitutional Council.

In 1989, after some elections where his party didn't do well, Bayrou and other politicians wanted to change how the RPR and UDF parties worked. They wanted these parties to join together to form a new, stronger right-wing party. Even though some members left this group, Bayrou was chosen to be the UDF's general secretary in 1991.

In 1995, Bayrou supported Édouard Balladur for president. After Jacques Chirac won the election, Bayrou remained the Education Minister in the new government. In 1997, a different group of parties won the election, and Bayrou returned to being an opposition leader. In 1998, he became the president of the UDF. He changed the UDF from a group of smaller parties into one unified party.

Building a Centrist Party: 2002–2007

In 2002, François Bayrou did not agree with the idea of merging the UDF with another big party, the Rally for the Republic (RPR). This new party later became known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Because of this, many UDF members left to join the UMP.

Bayrou became more and more critical of the UMP-led government. He felt they were not connected to ordinary French people. He spoke out against the idea of a "two-party system" in France, where only the Socialist Party and the RPR (later UMP) took turns leading. Bayrou wanted a system where other parties could also play an important role.

In 2006, Bayrou supported a "motion of no confidence" against the government. This motion asks the government to resign. It failed because the UMP had enough votes to stay in power. After this, a French TV authority first called him part of the opposition. But Bayrou argued, and they decided he was neither part of the majority nor the opposition.

Second Presidential Campaign: 2007

François Bayrou in Strasbourg in 2007

In 2007, Bayrou ran for president again. Most people thought the election would be a contest between Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. However, Bayrou's support grew in the polls, making the election more unpredictable.

In the end, Bayrou came in third place. He received 18.57% of the votes, which was the best result for the UDF in a presidential election since 1981. After the first round, Bayrou said he could not support either Sarkozy or Royal in the final round. He did suggest that Sarkozy was the less favorable choice of the two.

Creating the Democratic Movement: 2007–2012

After the 2007 election, Bayrou decided to create a new centrist party called the Democratic Movement (MoDem). Most UDF politicians did not follow him. Instead, they formed a different party, the New Centre, which supported an alliance with the UMP. However, most of the UDF's regular members stayed with Bayrou and joined MoDem.

In the elections for the National Assembly in June 2007, MoDem came in third place with 7.6% of the votes. This was an increase from the UDF's share in 2002. However, MoDem only won four seats in the National Assembly, including Bayrou's own seat. The creation of MoDem officially ended the UDF alliance on 30 November 2007.

Third Presidential Election: 2012

François Bayrou at a meeting in Marseille in April 2012

On 18 August 2011, Bayrou released a book called 2012. Etat d'urgence (2012. State of Emergency). In this book, he talked about how the economic crisis happened. He also explained the main goals of his next presidential plan: focusing on production and education.

François Bayrou officially announced he would run for president in the 2012 presidential election on 25 November 2011. He made this announcement during an interview on a TV show called Parole Directe.

Some of his supporters for this election included:

• Jean Arthuis, president of the Centrist Alliance
• Bernard Bosson, former Mayor of Annecy
• Pierre Albertini, Mayor of Rouen
• Anne-Marie Idrac, former Secretary of State for International Trade
• Alain Lambert, former Budget Minister
• Daniel Garrigue, a member of the National Assembly
• Jean-François Kahn, an author and former newspaper director

Bayrou was eliminated in the first round of the election. He received about half the votes he had in 2007. For the final round, he supported the Socialist candidate, François Hollande.

2017 Presidential Election

On 22 February 2017, Bayrou announced that he would not run in the 2017 presidential election. Instead, he decided to support the centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron from the En Marche! party. This alliance surprised many political experts and other candidates in France.

Part of their agreement was that Macron would support a law for a "clean government," which Bayrou had proposed. Bayrou said that France was in "extreme risk" and needed an "exceptional response." He also made it clear that this alliance did not mean his MoDem party would be taken over by En Marche!

Minister of Justice (2017)

On 17 May 2017, Bayrou was appointed as the Minister of Justice in the new government.

After only 35 days in the role, Bayrou resigned from the government. This happened just a few days before the 2017 legislative election.

Later Career

In February 2022, Bayrou created something he called a "sponsorship bank." This was a group of local officials who were willing to give their signatures to presidential candidates. This helped candidates who were struggling to get enough signatures to run, even if polls showed they had a lot of public support. This included far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

In January 2024, Gabriel Attal became the new Prime Minister. Bayrou stated that he would not join this new government. Many had expected him to return to a cabinet position because he had recently been cleared of some charges.

Prime Minister (2024–Present)

On 13 December 2024, the government led by Michel Barnier lost a no confidence vote. Following this, President Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou as the new Prime Minister.

Political Ideas

Bayrou meeting European commissionner Jessika Roswall, in January 2025.

François Bayrou has spoken out on many important issues. He supports changing the political system, protecting civil liberties (people's basic rights), and promoting free software. During his 2007 presidential campaign, he called the European Union "the most beautiful construction of all humanity." He believes France should play a bigger role in the European Union. He also supports making a European Constitution that is easier to understand and then approving it.

In a 2007 interview, Bayrou described himself as a "democrat" and a "man of the 'third way'." The "third way" is a political idea that tries to combine ideas from both left-wing and right-wing politics. He sees himself as a centrist, even though he has historical ties to right-wing parties.

His political plan focuses on several key areas:

• Creating more jobs.
• Improving the quality of education.
• Making conditions better in struggling city areas.
• Reducing government spending.
• Having a balanced budget (where the government doesn't spend more than it earns).
• Making the European Union stronger, with France playing a leading role.

Bayrou has also criticized China for protecting the Sudanese government from UN Security Council punishments. He was very critical of the American economic model under George Bush. He also criticized the idea of a completely unregulated free market. He described the US economic system as one where only the strongest survive. He felt that money was often seen as the only motivation, higher education was too expensive, and the middle class was shrinking. Bayrou also disagreed with the Iraq war, saying it caused "chaos" in the region.

François Bayrou in 2009

He has criticized Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign policy. This included inviting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for a state visit to France. He also criticized the military agreements signed with Libya.

Bayrou called for France to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics. He did this because of concerns about human rights in China and political unrest in Tibet. At a rally in Paris, he said that if the situation didn't improve, France should not attend the Olympic Games. He also criticized China for opposing punishments against Sudan over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Bayrou speaks Béarnese fluently. He often shows his support for regionalism, which means valuing and promoting the unique cultures and identities of different regions.

Government Roles

• Minister of National Education: 1993–1995.
• Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research: 1995–1997.
• Minister of Justice: 2017.
• Prime Minister: 2024–present.

Elected Positions

European Parliament

• Member of European Parliament: 1999–2002 (He was reelected to the National Assembly of France in 2002).

National Assembly of France

• Member of the National Assembly of France for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques' 2nd constituency: 1986–1993 (He became a minister in 1993) / 1997–1999 (He became a member of the European Parliament in 1999) / 2002–2012. He was elected in 1986, and reelected in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, and 2007. He lost his seat on 17 June 2012.

General Council

• President of the General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1992–2001. He was reelected in 1994 and 1998.
• General Councillor of Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1982–2008. He was reelected in 1988, 1994, and 2001.

Municipal Council

• Mayor of Pau: since April 2014.
• Municipal Councillor of Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1983–1993 (He resigned) / Since 2008. He was reelected in 1989, 2008, and 2014.

Political Leadership Roles

• President of the Union for French Democracy: 1998–2007.
• President of the European Democratic Party: since 2004.
• President of the Democratic Movement: Since 2007.

See also

In Spanish: François Bayrou para niños