Macron appoints EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as new French Prime Minister

PARIS– President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday appointed EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister, after more than 50 days of caretaker government.

The appointment of 73-year-old Barnier followed weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to end a period of great political turmoil by finding a head of government who can survive in France’s newly fragmented political landscape.

Barnier faces the difficult task of having to work with a deeply divided parliament, which is mired in a deadlock and emerged from the parliamentary elections that Macron called to great surprise in June.

Without a parliamentary majority of his own, Barnier must find loose ad hoc groups of supporters in the National Assembly to tackle France’s most pressing problems – including the 2025 budget.

Barnier could quickly face possible attempts in parliament to overthrow the new government he will now form and lead. Macron’s opponents on France’s left-wing political camp immediately portrayed the appointment of the conservative Barnier as a slap in the face to their voters.

A statement from Macron’s office on Barnier’s appointment said he had been given the task of “forming a unified government that serves the country and the French people.”

“This appointment follows an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which the President, in accordance with his constitutional duty, has ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government meet the conditions for the greatest possible stability and give each other the chance of reaching the broadest possible agreement,” the statement said.

Barnier, a career politician proud of his humble roots in the French Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, is no stranger to complex and difficult tasks: he was the European Union’s chief negotiator in the difficult talks with Britain on leaving the Union after Brexit.

Barnier replaces Gabriel Attal, who was France’s youngest prime minister and the first openly gay head of government when he was appointed in January at the age of 34.

Attal resigned on July 16 after the snap parliamentary elections left a divided parliament deadlocked and plunged France into great political uncertainty.

But Macron kept Attal and his ministers in office on an acting basis to take care of day-to-day affairs so that political instability did not overshadow the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26 to August 11, when France was in the spotlight of the world.

During his more than 50-year political career, Barnier served as French Foreign Minister, Minister for European Affairs, Environment and Agriculture – and twice as EU Commissioner.

The influential far-left politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon immediately spoke out against Barnier’s appointment and predicted that the new prime minister would not find a majority for his cause in the deeply divided National Assembly.

Mélenchon said the appointment contradicted the results of the July 7 parliamentary elections, which had split the lower house into three major blocs: the left, which includes Mélenchon’s party; the centre, which Macron relies on; and the extreme right, which is centered around anti-immigration activist Marine Le Pen.

“The election was stolen,” Mélenchon claimed.

Le Pen, on the other hand, indicated that she was willing to give Barnier a chance, but said her Rassemblement National party would not participate in his government because the new prime minister “does not share our ideas”.

She says the 2025 budget will be a priority for Barnier’s government, with a tight deadline for presenting such a budget. France is also under pressure from the European Union to get its finances in order after Brussels reprimanded Paris for excessive debt.

“Barnier is a man who respects other political forces,” said Le Pen. “This is important because, given the state of the French budget, compromises must be found.”

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Associated Press journalist Diane Jeantet in Paris contributed.