Bayrou, 73, heads the liberal Democratic Movement (MoDem) party, which is allied to but not part of Macron's centrist force, and has supported the president since his victorious 2017 election campaign.
He himself has been a presidential candidate three times, in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and has long been pointed to as the obvious choice for Macron as head of government. Now he finally has his chance.
In February, Bayrou was acquitted after a seven-year trial for fraud in his party's hiring of parliamentary aides, with the judge then ruling that he was due the "benefit of the doubt."
Bayrou was appointed justice minister by Macron when he assumed the presidency in 2017.
He resigned that year when a lawsuit was launched against him, but remained a key behind-the-scenes ally. His acquittal opens up the possibility of a potential return to government.
Commentators considered him the most likely candidate, although his acquittal is still subject to appeal by the prosecution.
Bayrou will have to navigate a complicated situation as the sixth prime minister of Macron's presidency after the parliament confirmed Michel Barnier on December 4.
Each successive prime minister has been in office for a shorter period than his predecessor, and given the composition of the lower house of the National Assembly, there is no guarantee that Barnier's successor will last longer than the three months the right-wing prime minister was in office.
"He hates him"
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, whose forces could prove useful to Macron in ensuring the stability of the next government, said on December 11 that he opposed Bayrou's appointment because he would embody "continuity."
Bayrou will also have to deal with the hostility of the still influential former right-wing French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
According to sources, "Sarko's priority is anyone but Bayrou".
Sarkozy, who still has influence in the right-wing despite criminal convictions since leaving office, even spoke to Macron at the Elysee Palace on December 8 to clarify his feelings, says a ministry source who asked not to be named.
"He hates him," adds another right-wing source, who said Sarkozy's hostility to Bayrou dates back to his support for Socialist Francois Hollande in the second round of the 2012 presidential election after he dropped out in the first round.
Bayrou has had a long and varied political career, in which he worked with former right-wing presidents Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac before endorsing Hollande in 2012.
Mayor of the southwestern city of Pau, Bayrou is a practicing Catholic but also a firm supporter of France's secular system.
He gained notoriety during the 2002 presidential campaign when he punched a child in the face who tried to pick his pocket.
He then won less than seven percent of the vote and was eliminated in the first round.
The father of six children, Bayrou is also the author of a biography of the 16th- and 17th-century French king Henri IV. | BGNES
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Stuart Williams, AFP
