Paris, France

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French President Emmanuel Macron is not naming the country's new prime minister for now, the news agency AFP reported late Thursday (Dec 5) citing sources.

Michel Barnier resigned from the PM's post earlier on Thursday, a day after opposition lawmakers voted to topple his government. 

The vote was the first successful no-confidence action since the defeat of Georges Pompidou's government in 1962 when Charles de Gaulle was president.

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According to the Elysee, Barnier and his ministers would remain in charge of daily business until the new government was appointed. 

Macron under pressure to announce new PM

It is not yet known who will be the new prime minister. Macron is under pressure to pick a name fast to avoid further turmoil in France. 

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Also read | Setback for Macron as parliament sacks PM Barnier, here’s what happens next

Contemporary France's shortest-serving premier, Barnier met Macron at the Elysee Palace to submit his resignation after Wednesday's parliamentary defeat forced his government to step down.

The top picks for French PM

Here are some of the top picks for the PM's post whose names are circulating in French media:

Sebastian Lecornu:

Lecornu defected from the Republican party and rallied behind Macron's 2017 presidency, going on to become one of the president's staunchest allies.

Lecornu, 38, most recently served as defence minister in Barnier's outgoing government, overseeing increases in defence spending and France’s support of military aid to Ukraine.

Francois Bayrou:

Bayrou's party – the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party has been a part of Macron’s ruling alliance since 2017. President Macron appointed Bayrou as justice minister but he resigned only weeks later amid an investigation into his party’s alleged fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants.

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He was cleared of fraud charges this year, the news agency Reuters reported.

Bernard Cazeneuve – a former PM:

Cazeneuve, 61, served as the French prime minister in the final months of Francois Hollande's presidency.

He was a senior member of the Socialist Party before he quit in 2022 in anger over the party’s decision to form an electoral pact with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI).

Reuters reported that choosing Cazeneuve would be designed to encourage Socialist lawmakers to move away from the alliance with LFI, Greens and Communists and to expand a centrist ruling group.

His name had earlier circulated in the summer as Macron sought a prime minister following an inconclusive snap election.  

(With inputs from agencies)