Eleanor Harvey
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as the country’s new Prime Minister after 60 days of decision-making.
Barnier is a 73-year-old career politician from France’s right-wing Republican party. He will replace outgoing PM Gabriel Attal after just eight months in the role.
WHY A NEW PM?
Attal resigned in early July after the legislative election. Ensemble, the centrist political alliance he represents, came second to left-wing alliance the New Popular Front.
Macron called the election early in response to the far right’s widespread success in June’s European Parliament elections, including in France.
However, no party gained enough seats to form a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. This means the three main groups – the New Popular Front, Ensemble and the far-right party National Rally – have almost no common ground in their policies or political positions.
Following Attal’s resignation, Macron requested he continue to lead a caretaker government over the summer to ensure stability during the Paris Olympics whilst his successor was chosen.
Macron was subsequently reported to be considering several figures from across the political spectrum to replace Attal. But he struggled to find anyone who would be able to survive a predicted no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.
After 60 days of speculation and increasing frustration from opposition parties about the delay, Macron finally named Barnier as Prime Minister on the 5th September.
WHO IS MICHEL BARNIER?
Barnier is an established figure in French politics. He was first elected to the National Assembly in 1978 at the age of 27.
Having started his career at a young age, he will now become France’s oldest Prime Minister in modern political history. He is 38 years older than his predecessor Attal, who himself became the youngest person ever to occupy the post aged 34.
Barnier is best known for leading negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Following the 2016 independence referendum, he gained the nickname “Monsieur Brexit” in France.
“He is more politically conservative than either Macron or Attal.”
Previously, he had also been involved in organising the 1992 Winter Olympics in his hometown Savoie. He held several cabinet posts throughout the 1990s and 2000s under former presidents François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.
A lifelong member of right-wing party the Republicans, he is more politically conservative than either Macron or Attal. The president and former PM both hail from Renaissance, the centrist, pro-European party Macron founded in 2016.
Barnier has previously expressed support for several anti-immigration and anti-EU stances. He suggested immigration from outside Europe should be suspended and that France should leave the European Court of Human Rights.
Barnier also attempted to run against Macron in the 2022 Presidential Election on behalf of the Republicans and even accused the president of being “arrogant” in his style of running the country. Ultimately he failed to secure his party’s official nomination.
However, Barnier has previously endorsed economic policies similar to Macron’s, such as cutting taxes. He has now said he will not repeal the president’s hugely unpopular choice to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, but instead consider how it can be altered to protect “the most fragile.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Barnier’s first responsibility as PM will be to appoint his own cabinet. He has already stated he wants his ministers to reflect a wide range of political positions to avoid “sectarianism.”
In his first interview since accepting the role, Barnier said: “This won’t just be a right-wing government […] There are good ideas everywhere [and] you must look for them everywhere.”
However, he implied that he will seek to undertake his role independently from Macron, arguing: “the president must preside, [and] the government must govern.”
Barnier’s appointment has angered some members of the New Popular Front who feel that the new PM should have come from their ranks as the largest group in the National Assembly, but whose official nominee for the post – 37-year-old economist Lucie Castets – was rejected by Macron.
Several figures from the left, including Castets, have accused Macron of choosing Barnier to appease Marine Le Pen, a leading figure of the far-right National Rally and his rival in both the 2017 and 2022 Presidential Elections.
Le Pen rejected claims she was involved in the decision. She said her party’s MPs will not enter Barnier’s cabinet, but promised to judge the new PM on his future actions rather than immediately dismissing him.
Barnier also denied making any deals with the National Rally, but vowed to “respect” those from all across the political spectrum. He stated: “I don’t have anything, or not much, in common with the theories or ideologies of the National Rally [but] I respect [them]. There are nearly 11 million French people […] who voted for the National Rally. Their voices count, as do those of [people] who voted for the New Popular Front and then naturally those who voted in the centre or on the right or those who didn’t vote.”
“74 per cent believe he will not remain PM for long.”
Around 100,000 people took part in protests against Barnier’s appointment, with several calling for Macron’s resignation and accusing him of having stolen the election.
Despite these demonstrations, recent polling indicates 52 per cent of French people approve of Barnier’s appointment. However, 74 per cent believe he will not remain PM for long.
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Featured image courtesy of European Parliament on Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.
Eleanor Harvey
Eleanor is in her second year of studying English at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her interests include British and French politics, tennis, and all things books.