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President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Michel Barnier as the new French Prime Minister, in a fresh attempt to resolve the political deadlock gripping France.
Barnier’s appointment brings an end to a two-month political impasse, following a snap election this summer that resulted in a hung parliament with no party securing a clear majority. Since July, France has been governed by a caretaker administration.
Barnier has been tasked with “forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people,” a statement from Macron’s office said. Barnier, who previously served as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, emerged as the leading candidate among contenders such as former Premier Bernard Cazeneuve, top civil servant Thierry Beaudet, and conservative politician Xavier Bertrand.
Macron’s decision has come under fire from the New Popular Front, the alliance of left-wing parties that won the most seats in the parliamentary elections in July as their heir candidate for Prime Minister, Lucie Castets, was rejected by Macron.
Far-right lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy, has also taken a jibe at Barnier, calling him “a fossil that has been fossilized by politics,” claiming he has “done nothing but fail even on the EU stage.” Tanguy did not, however, commit to supporting a no-confidence motion against Barnier.
📌Born on January 9 in La Tronche, a suburb of Grenoble, Barnier began his political career at 27 when he was elected to represent the Gaullist, centre-right Savoie district.
📌Barnier is a member of The Republicans, France’s main conservative party.
📌Barnier, who is 73, led EU negotiations with Britain over its exit from the bloc from 2016 to 2021.
📌 He has served as a cabinet minister four times and twice as an EU Commissioner.
📌 His French cabinet roles include Minister of the Environment (1993-1995), Minister of State for European Affairs (1995-1997), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-2005), and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (2007-2009).
📌 At the European level, Barnier was EU Regional Policy Commissioner (1999-2004) and EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services (2010-2014).
📌 From 2016 to 2019, he was the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator following Britain’s referendum on leaving the bloc.
📌 In 1992, he co-organised the Winter Olympics held in Albertville in his constituency.
📌 In August 2021 Barnier announced his candidacy for the French presidency, but he failed to win sufficient support at 2021 congress of the Republicans.
