Macron appoints Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as Prime Minister of France

This article was last updated on September 5, 2024

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Macron appoints Brexit negotiator Barnier as Prime Minister of France

President Macron has appointed former EU Commissioner Michel Barnier as Prime Minister of France. Barnier is known, among other things, because he was a negotiator for the European Union for many years during the Brexit talks with the United Kingdom.

The 73-year-old Bernier is the oldest prime minister since the country switched to a new form of government in 1958 in which the president has the most power, the so-called Fifth Republic. Barnier succeeds 35-year-old Gabriel Attal, who was the youngest prime minister.

Barnier is tasked with forming a new government to end the political stalemate that arose after the elections. The left-wing bloc Nouveau Front Popculaire (NFP) surprisingly became the largest in parliament, but had too few seats for an absolute majority. That is why Macron stated that “no one had won the elections”.

Disagreement

Meanwhile, there was also disagreement within the left-wing bloc after the elections. The parties initially all moved their own prime ministerial candidate came forward, but eventually came up with a name: the unknown official Lucie Castets. Because Macron did not like her and his consent was required, it was already extremely doubtful that she would become prime minister.

It is now up to Barnier to form a government. Macron would like a centrist coalition, but who will participate and whether those parties will have an absolute majority remains to be seen.

‘Regime crisis’

The left-wing parties react furiously to the appointment. Party CEO Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the radical left party LFI says that with the appointment “the elections have been stolen” and that it is not up to the prime minister’s party to make such an appointment.

Socialist party leader Olivier Faure says France “has a regime crisis”. “We now have a prime minister from a party that finished in fourth place,” referring to Barnier’s centre-right party, Les Republicains.