"President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Francois Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a French government," AFP quoted a brief announcement from the Elysee Palace without providing further information.

Thus, it took Mr. Macron only 9 days to choose a suitable candidate for the prime minister's seat to replace Mr. Michel Barnier, who resigned because the parliament voted no confidence after his government proposed an "austerity" budget for next year.

Mr. Bayrou (73 years old) has led the MoDem movement, an ally of President Macron's party since 2017.

The name of the new prime minister was announced after a tense and nearly two-hour meeting between Mr. Macron and Mr. Bayrou on December 13, according to BFMTV.

The handover ceremony between Mr. Barnier and Mr. Bayrou is expected to take place today local time.

The new cabinet will be announced in a few days after key positions are filled.

The first challenge facing Mr Bayrou is to form a cabinet that can survive a no-confidence vote in a divided parliament and pass a suitable budget for 2025.

President Macron hopes Mr Bayrou can withstand the risk of a no-confidence vote at least until July next year, when France could hold its next general election.

However, observers warn that Mr Macron's future as president could be unpredictable if the government collapses again.

This is the fourth time Mr. Macron has appointed a prime minister this year.