French President Emmanuel Macron named Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister on Thursday, nearly two months after legislative elections that kept the far right from power but left France in unprecedented political deadlock.
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France’s Macron picks Michel Barnier as prime minister, seeking to end deadlock
Barnier was the main E.U. representative in contentious negotiations over the terms of Britain’s exit from the bloc, and he has served in previous French governments, including as environment minister and foreign minister. He sought to challenge Macron in the 2022 presidential election but failed to win his conservative party’s nomination.
Acknowledging Thursday that the appointment came after “an unprecedented cycle of consultations,” the Elysée palace said Macron believes that Barnier has the best chance of achieving political stability and garnering the broadest possible support.
The challenge for Macron — whose gamble in calling snap elections resulted in the loss of his party’s governing majority in the National Assembly — is that while the president can pick a prime minister, the candidate must in effect be approved by the assembly.
The left-wing New Popular Front alliance, which finished first in the elections but fell short of a majority, and the right-wing National Rally, which finished third, each threatened to trigger no-confidence votes against other’s preferred candidates.
Thursday’s decision could end weeks of uncertainty during which Macron’s ministers remained in office as a caretaker government without much power — while an October deadline to present a new budget loomed.
But far-left elements of the left-wing coalition that won the legislative elections indicated they may try to unite to censure a Barnier government.