France names a new government, seeking to end turmoil from July’s election

France has had only an acting government since July’s snap elections concluded with no bloc of parties securing a governing majority of seats. The prolonged uncertainty left France rudderless at home and constrained the country in international affairs. Domestically, it has been unable to advance a 2025 budget or move to address a ballooning budget deficit. The interregnum has also allowed animosities to fester.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Barnier this month, saying that the veteran French politician — who was also the European Union’s Brexit negotiator — had the best chance to reestablish political stability.

Two weeks of talks with the various blocs have resulted in the naming of 39 ministers. At its core are 17 senior cabinet members, who together form a predominantly center-right government, with ministers primarily from Macron’s centrist movement (which finished second in the election) and from Barnier’s right-wing Republicans (which finished a distant fourth).

None of the most senior officials represent Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, which placed third. But also excluded are representatives of the left-wing alliance New Popular Front, which placed first.

Left-wing parties, along with students, environmentalists and feminist groups, protested ahead of the announcement on Saturday in several French cities against the direction of the new cabinet.

Socialist lawmakers said earlier that the appointments didn’t reflect voter preferences for the left and instead favored people more closely aligned with Macron.

The leader of the far-left La France Insoumise, the biggest party in the alliance, said the cabinet has “no legitimacy and no future” as the party pledged to seek a no-confidence vote.

Barnier’s efforts to form a coalition that included alliance figures were rebuffed by the left, which argued that the election results should translate to more power than was offered, and by the far right, which threatened to bring down the government.

Barnier could get by without the support of lawmakers on the left. He has backing from the centrist and conservative camps. But to make the math work, and avoid a censure vote that would topple the government before it even got started, Barnier needed at least the tacit approval of National Rally.

On Saturday, the party’s president and Le Pen’s young protégé, Jordan Bardella, appeared to issue a threat, saying the new government amounted to a “return to Macronism through a back door" and would have “no future.”

Le Pen told Le Parisien earlier this week she was confident Barnier would respect her party’s criteria and leave out certain politicians, but added a forward-looking warning. “The fact that we didn’t put forward a prior vote of censure does not deprive us of the possibility, depending on the budget, of voting for a vote of censure if we consider that the French people’s best interests are being flouted,” she said.

This is the first time Le Pen’s party has held so much sway over government talks, analysts say.

“Macron’s snap election gamble has given the far-right, the party he had promised to diminish and weaken, its biggest parliamentary bloc ever, and a kingmaker role it could only dream of,” said Rym Momtaz, editor in chief of Carnegie Europe’s Strategic Europe analysis website.

Barnier has said his government’s first priority is to address France’s “very serious” budget situation.

The country is trying to rebalance after spending generously to shield the economy during the pandemic and to protect households from soaring energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has also increased defense spending in the face of the Russian threat.

France is on notice for violating E.U. budget rules. Its deficit last year amounted to 154 billion euros ($172 billion), which was 5.5 percent of gross domestic product — above the E.U.'s 3 percent guideline and the second highest in the bloc, after Italy.

Tens of billions of euros from the annual budget go to paying interest on the country’s debt, which stands at about 3 trillion euros. France’s debt to GDP ratio is more than 110 percent — the third highest ratio in Europe after Greece and Italy.

As prime minister, Barnier will have to carefully navigate France’s increasingly polarized politics — to avoid rattling opposition parties who could come together to try to bring down his government.