Thousands took to the streets across France to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to appoint conservative Michel Barnier as the prime minister
Macron’s announcement came on September 5th, almost two months after France’s snap elections in which no party won a majority
Barnier, who belongs to the Republicans (LR) party has accepted his role, saying, “There is a need for respect, appeasement and unity”
Who is Michel Barnier?
Born on January 9th, 1951, Barnier comes from humble origins in Southeast France’s La Tronche.
Barnier has served as the Cabinet Minister of Environment, European Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture and Fisheries under four different conservative Prime Ministers.
He has repeatedly voted for conservative choices like opposing the decriminalisation of same-sex relations among underage couples, and abolishing capital punishment.
Barnier was the European Union’s chief negotiator with Britain during the Brexit talks in 2016.
Divided France
Macron called for snap elections in July this year after Marin Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) defeated his Renaissance party in the European Parliament elections.
In the elections to the National Assembly, which were held in two rounds on June 30th and July 7th and witnessed the highest turnout since 1981, no party won a majority.
The leftwing New Popular Front finished first with 182 seats, followed by Macron’s Ensemble which won 161 seats and RN finished with 142 seats
However, Macron had called for centrist parties to unite to form a government
The power to appoint the prime minister rests solely on the president, according to the French system
Macron rejected the Leftwing’s Prime Minister pick, socialist progressive Lucie Castets, claiming that “Institutional stability dictates that this option should not be retained”.
Read the full report here
Report: Suchitra Karthikeyan
Voiceover: Jude Weston
Production: Gayatri Menon
Published – September 11, 2024 03:57 pm IST
