French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist MoDem party leader François Bayrou, 73, as the country’s new Prime Minister, 9 days after former PM Michel Barnier was ousted from office.

Macron spent several hours with the new PM at the Elysée Palace ahead of the announcement, engaged in what French media describe as a tense discussion.

The French President had been expected to announce his decision on Thursday evening, but delayed his appointment until Friday.

The Élysée Palace posted an announcement on X, in French, announcing the President’s decison, saying “The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. François Bayrou as Prime Minister and tasked him with forming a government.”

Bayrou, a seasoned politician, has been a close ally of Macron since the latter assumed office in 2017. He will be the President’s fourth Prime Minister appointee this year. His predecessor lasted only three months in the post, before losing a vote of confidence earlier this month.

As he settled in his new residence at Hôtel Matignon, he is tasked with the immediate challenge to form a government that can work with parliament and pass a budget for the coming year.

Macron’s announcement hopes to end a tense period for the country’s government, which has spent the past six months in a state of political deadlock, since the President called for snap parliamentary elections in the summer.