Michel Barnier named as new French prime minister

By Dalal Mawad, Stephanie Halasz, Sophie Tanno and Emmanuel Miculita, CNN

(CNN) — Michel Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, has become France’s new prime minister, the French president’s office says, ending two months of stalemate following inconclusive parliamentary elections.

In a statement on Thursday, the Élysée Palace said: “The President of the Republic has appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. He has to form a united government to serve the country and the French people.”

The statement added that Barnier’s appointment comes after “an unprecedented cycle of consultations” in order to ensure a stable government.

Barnier, 73, a staunch Europhile, is a member of the Republicans party which represents the traditional right. He is best known on the international stage for his role in mediating the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

A 40-year veteran of French and European politics, Barnier has held various ministerial positions in France, including roles as foreign, agriculture and environment ministers. He served twice as a European commissioner as well as an adviser to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. In 2021, Barnier announced his bid for presidential elections but failed to garner enough support within his party.

Macron accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government in July, after his centrist Ensemble alliance was defeated in the second round of France’s snap parliamentary election. The president has since faced calls from across the political divide to name a new PM. Last week, Macron told journalists during a trip to Serbia he was “making all the necessary efforts” to finalize a name.

“I will have the opportunity in a few days, in just a few weeks, to state the major legislative priorities and proposals on behalf of the new government before parliament. It will be a question of responding, as much as we can, to the challenges, to the anger, as you mentioned, to the suffering, to the feeling of abandonment, of injustice that runs through our cities, our neighborhoods and our countryside far too much,” Barnier said, speaking alongside Attal during the transfer of power at Hotel Matignon, the prime minister’s office in Paris.

Surrounded by his family, staff members and several lawmakers, Attal congratulated Barnier.

“The French know you. They know that you are a great local elected official,” said Attal, praising Barnier’s “almost unmatched experience of serving the state in various international and European functions.”

But he did not hide his frustration that his tenure came to such an abrupt end.

“Eight months is too short,” Attal said, warning that the country’s politics is suffering, “but recovery is possible.”

Forming a government

Barnier’s prospects for forming a stable government are unclear. Currently, France’s far-right National Rally (RN) is one of the largest parties in parliament following the election in early July. It has previously suggested it could be open to working with Barnier and would not immediately veto him.

Still, RN politician Laurent Jacobelli spoke disparagingly of Barnier, telling French television network TF1: “They are taking out of mothballs those who have governed France for 40 years.”

The leaders of France’s main far-right and far-left political parties reacted to the appointment of Barnier following Thursday’s announcement, with the far left condemning the decision.

Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally party, said on social media that his party will “judge” Barnier based on his inaugural “general policy speech, his budgetary decisions and his actions.”

Bardella’s party colleague Marine Le Pen also stressed in televised remarks that the party “will not participate in any government whatsoever” until after they have heard Barnier’s speech laying out his policy plans.

Le Pen did go on to commend Barnier on one level, describing the veteran politician as “someone who is respectful of the different political forces” and “capable” of addressing her party.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Melenchon of the far-left France Unbowed party delivered a stinging rebuke of President Macron, accusing him of “stealing” the parliamentary elections held in July.

“The president has just officially denied the results of the legislative elections that he himself had called for. He (Barnier) is a member, among others, of a party which was last in the legislative election. The election was therefore stolen from the French people,” Melenchon remarked in a televised speech.

The left-wing leader called on French people to protests against Barnier’s appointment from this Saturday.

Barnier served as the chief negotiator during the UK’s exit from the European Union. The lengthy talks between London and Brussels ran from 2016 to 2021 and he is known among Brexiteers in the UK for driving a hard bargain.

Born in January 1951 in a suburb of the Alpine city of Grenoble, Barnier was first elected to parliament at the age of 27.

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