François Bayrou and Emmanuel Macron met for the first time on July 9, 2016 in Pau. The first was then mayor of Pau and was preparing to support Alain Juppé in the right-wing primary.
The second is still François Hollande's Minister of the Economy. On February 22, 2017, François Bayrou announced during a press conference at his party headquarters proposing an alliance to Emmanuel Macron. The two men agree to make probity, with a major law of moralization of political life, one of the major axes of Macron's candidacy.