But France’s previous government collapsed this month because Marine Le Pen’s far-right party and left-wing lawmakers opposed 60 billion euros in spending cuts and tax hikes in the original 2025 budget plan. Bayrou and new Finance Minister Eric Lombard are expected to scale back some of those promises, but the calculations are tough.

The foreign, defense and interior ministers from the government that collapsed this month return in Prime Minister François Bayrou’s new government.

The government, put together by newly named Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, includes members of the outgoing conservative-dominated team and new figures from centrist or left-leaning backgrounds. Coming up with a 2025 budget will be the most urgent order of business.