"The mind is freer": but why is François Bayrou launching his YouTube channel to talk about the budget in the middle of summer?

In a video and podcast lasting about ten minutes, the Prime Minister gravely discusses the crucial issues of the upcoming budget texts. With the risk of missing his target, in the middle of the summer holidays.
France has one more YouTuber. With "FB Direct," François Bayrou took his first steps on the video streaming platform on Tuesday, August 5. In a speech For just over eight minutes, he kicked off a series of content focused on the 2026 budget , a very big item on the government and Parliament's agenda from September to December.
An identical podcast has also been released, symbolizing the Béarnais' willingness to venture into formats that are unusual for a Prime Minister. "The goal of this direct communication is for you to form your own opinion" about France's "over-indebtedness," "an evil that we will not escape if we do not show courage," he argues in this first segment.
Our country is facing decisive choices. This summer, I feel the need to speak directly to each and every one of you about the reality of our situation and the directions we need to take. Join us every day on YouTube and via podcast. https://t.co/cvYjdqRB5M pic.twitter.com/JPN343JCVz
— François Bayrou (@bayrou) August 5, 2025
Why did François Bayrou decide to personally lead such a publicity campaign, in the middle of summer? " All the leaders are going on a well-deserved vacation, which I will not do, because the days we will experience during this month of August and the beginning of September are absolutely crucial. This is the moment when everything will be decided," he explains at the beginning of the video, broadcast Tuesday afternoon.
For the former presidential candidate, this serious tone is far from new. Since the spring, he has been constantly warning about the extremely difficult situation of public finances. It all formally began with a long press conference entitled "The truth allows us to act" on April 15, whose objective was already to "raise awareness" among the general public. To "escape the death trap of deficit and debt," he then presented his ideas for saving nearly 44 billion euros on July 15, an unusual summer date for addressing these issues.
While he wants to pursue his awareness-raising goal, the Prime Minister rejects to franceinfo the idea that August would be a bad time to discuss this often dry and complex subject. "On the contrary, the mind is freer," he assures.
"There are fewer speakers in a debate that quickly becomes confused."
François Bayrou, Prime Ministerto franceinfo
Behind these speeches, which last a maximum of ten minutes and are developed with his communications team, the Prime Minister insists on his desire to reach his fellow citizens directly, without intermediaries. "I have long believed that those who really decide are the French people. In a way, political groups are sensitive to their partisan interests, but also to what the French people will tell them," he explains.
A way to circumvent the situation in Parliament, with both the left and the far right threatening to censure his government during the budget review. It's also a way to avoid any contradiction, since no journalist will question the head of government, who will be answering questions from selected French people starting the week of August 11. After initially being disabled, comments were opened, leading to numerous calls for his resignation.
Highly unpopular, with a confidence rating that recently reached an all-time low of 12%, François Bayrou "is seeking to regain some breathing space before the start of the school year, to be in a better position in front of the deputies and public opinion, with a call for mobilization against him," analyzes Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, communications specialist and professor at Sciences Po. In recent weeks, the date of Wednesday, September 10, has emerged on social networks, in order to carry out collective actions against the economy measures planned by the government.
The Prime Minister's role, in the eyes of the communications specialist, is proving perilous. "The biggest risk François Bayrou is taking is indifference, despite a curiosity effect on the first episode. But it is also lighting other fires: he is taking the risk of mobilizing 'against' more than mobilizing 'for'," believes Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet. Another possible pitfall, according to him, is the threat of "image competition" between the Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron, who has already engaged in several videos on social networks to defend his policies .
"Usually, it is the President of the Republic who chooses this type of strategy."
Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, professor at Sciences Poto franceinfo
François Bayrou is not, however, the first head of government to attempt this adventure, recalls the communications specialist. "At the time, Prime Ministers Manuel Valls (2014-2016) and Edouard Philippe (2017-2020) had already tried to address the people directly without an intermediary," he explains, referring to the former mayor of Le Havre's Facebook Live broadcasts from his office at Matignon. Going back further, Pierre Mendès France also held weekly radio talks in the mid-1950s.
But this time, the situation is critical, as the MoDem leader has repeatedly emphasized, as he is dispensing with vacations to prepare minds for a strict budget. "It's always a good thing when elected officials try to convince rather than coerce," reacts LFI MP Antoine Léaument on BFMTV . "But you don't force someone to swallow sulfuric acid just because you packaged it better than the first time you offered it to them," he warns.
François Bayrou "is attempting to appeal to the people, which seems like a rather desperate strategy, a last resort," analyzes Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet. Before a more than tense return to school, the Prime Minister is pulling out all the stops to try to keep his office at Matignon this winter, even if it means spending the entire summer there.
Francetvinfo