PARIS, France.— The President of France, Emmanuel Macronnamed this Thursday Michel Barnierformer negotiator of the European Union for the Brexitlike new prime minister of the country after more than 50 days with a caretaker government.
The choice of Barnier, 73, came after weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who can rally support in parliament and survive possible attempts by the president’s opponents to quickly overthrow the new government he will have to assemble and lead.
In the statement announcing the appointment, Macron’s office said Barnier was tasked with “form a unifying government to serve the country and to the French people.”
“This appointment follows an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the President ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government would meet the conditions for being as stable as possible and would be given the opportunity to negotiate as broadly as possible,” the statement added.
Barnier, a career politician proud of his humble origins in the French Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, is no stranger to complex and difficult tasks: he was the EU’s chief negotiator in the complicated talks with the UK over its exit from the bloc.
Barnier replaces Gabriel Attalwho resigned on July 16 after snap legislative elections that left a divided and paralyzed parliament, plunging the country into political turmoil.
But Macron kept Attal and his ministers in their acting positions, to manage day-to-day affairs and to ensure that political instability did not jeopardize the Olympics played in Paris between 26 July and 11 August, when France was in the world’s spotlight.
In his more than 50-year political career, Barnier has served as French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of European Affairs, Minister of the Environment and Minister of Agriculture, and was a European Commissioner on two occasions.
The influential far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon He immediately criticised Barnier’s appointment and predicted that the new prime minister would not win a majority in the National Assembly.
He said Barnier’s appointment goes against the results of the July elections, which left the lower house divided between three large blocs: the left, where Melenchon’s party is present; the centre, where Macron’s supporters are found; and the far right, which is concentrated around the anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen. “The elections have been stolen,” Melenchon said.
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2024-09-21 06:36:22