French Prime Minister Michel Barnier delivers a speech during a ceremony organised by the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) to pay tribute to the victims of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, on the event’s first anniversary, in Paris, on October 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) faces a motion of no-confidence brought by the left which is set to underline the fragility of his government even while having little chance of succeeding.

Mr. Barnier, a right-wing former EU Brexit negotiator, was appointed by centrist President Emmanuel Macron to bring some stability in a potentially testy “cohabitation” across the political divide after inconclusive legislative elections earlier this summer.

The veteran Premier, 73, has since sought to firmly take the reins, warning that France faces a financial crisis if its budget deficit is not narrowed and saying that tax rises could be in order for high earners.

Mr. Macron, whose term runs until 2027, has in the last weeks taken a noticeable back seat, especially on domestic issues while making uncharacteristically infrequent public comments.

The appointment of Mr. Barnier, a patrician figure who served stints as a Minister and EU commissioner, has also been a contrast for the French.

They have seen three Premiers who were almost unknown before their appointment come and go in the space of four years.

But Mr. Barnier and his government, named last month with a conspicuously right-wing tinge, could be toppled at any moment if a no-confidence motion were passed in the National Assembly lower house of government.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) won the most seats of any coalition in the polls— even if the far-right National Rally (RN) emerged as the largest single party— and is still livid that Mr. Macron failed to appoint a leftist as Prime Minister.

“The existence of this government, in its composition and its orientation, is a negation of the result of the legislative elections,” states the motion, which is due to be put forward by Socialist Party (PS) leader Olivier Faure.

The left has also been angered by the hardline stances of the new Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, who has said there should be a referendum on immigration, although he admitted this was not possible under the constitution.

‘Give the product a chance’

However, the motion put forward by the NFP— a coalition of Socialists, Communists, hard-leftists and Greens— has little chance of succeeding as the RN’s MPs under three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen have made clear they will not back it on this occasion.

“I think the situation is serious enough not to bring down this government before it has got going,” RN MP Laure Lavalette told France 2 television.

“We are going to… give the product a chance… We cannot add to the chaos as you (the left) are doing,” she added.

However, the numbers could prove embarrassing for the Barnier government at this early stage, with some backing for the motion coming also from independents and even some dissenting members of Mr. Macron’s centrist faction unhappy at the prospect of tax rises.

Commentators have noted that the fate of Barnier’s government risks being at the RN’s mercy, vulnerable to a “sword of Damocles” wielded by Ms. Le Pen, who is expected to run for the presidency in 2027.

The Prime Minister, for his part, is well aware that he is walking on thin ice: “I know that I am in the hands of parliament,” he told La Tribune Dimanche.

New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
| Photo Credit: AP

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) that he will form his new government next week, potentially capping one period of political uncertainty ahead of a likely fight over the 2025 budget.

President Emmanuel Macron picked Mr. Barnier, a 73-year-old conservative and former Brexit negotiator, to lead the government two months after a snap legislative election called by Mr. Macron resulted in a leftist alliance winning the most votes but falling short of an absolute majority.

Watch:Who is Michel Barnier, France’s new PM?

Mr. Barnier has said he would defend some of the President’s key policies and toughen the government’s immigration stance. His government will be tasked with steering reforms and the budget through a hung parliament, amid pressure from the European Commission and bond markets for France to reduce its deficit.

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

New French prime minister Michel Barnier delivers a speech during the handover ceremony, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron has named EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister after more than 50 days of caretaker government.
| Photo Credit: AP

Choosing conservative Michel Barnier as his Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked the 73-year-old veteran politician with the tricky challenge of winning the confidence of a starkly divided National Assembly. Not a stranger to tackling sticky situations, the former EU chief negotiator accepted his role, saying, “There is a need for respect, appeasement and unity,” as the Left parties cry afoul over a ‘stolen election’.

Born on January 9, 1951, Mr. Barnier comes from humble origins in Southeast France’s La Tronche. Conservative ideals, stemmed during his teenage years in the right-wing Union for the Defence of the Republic (UDR) party, led Mr. Barnier to make his electoral debut in 1978, representing Savoie in the National Assembly. As an avid skier and hiker, Mr. Barnier is credited for bringing the Winter Olympics to his hometown, Savoie, in 1992.

Dubbed as a ‘well-grounded Republican’, Mr. Barnier has served as the Cabinet Minister of Environment (1993-95), European Affairs (1995-97), Foreign Affairs (2004-05) and Agriculture and Fisheries (2007-09) under four different conservative Prime Ministers. He has repeatedly voted for conservative choices like opposing decriminalisation of same sex relations among underage couples, abolishing capital punishment, which might win him the right-wing politicians favour in Parliament.

As the EU’s largest economy – the U.K. – chose to leave the bloc in 2016, Mr. Barnier, who had lost the race to be President of the European Commission to Jean-Claude Juncker in 2014, was tapped to negotiate the ‘Brexit’ deal. Hand-picked by Mr. Juncker for his methodical, cool-headed approach and his experience as the EU’s internal market commissioner (2010-14), Mr. Barnier negotiated with the U.K.’s changing leadership for its ‘costly and painful divorce’. After years of negotiations where he built consensus among the EU’s 27 members, he led the trade talks between the U.K. and the EU, which were finally ratified in 2020 and then was made in-charge of implementing it.

With the rising protests against Mr. Macron’s administration, Mr. Barnier once again turned his attention to French politics, vying a Presidential run as the Republican candidate in the 2022 French elections. Opposing Mr. Macron’s liberal policies, he called for tightening immigration restrictions in France, opening 20,000 new prison places and stringent sentencing for crimes and misdemeanours. While his political views were similar to far-right candidate Marin Le Pen, his economic views echo with Mr. Macron on cutting taxes, raising retirement age and promoting ease of business. His bid ended after he came third in the 2021 Republican Congress with a mere 23.93% votes.

Divided France

Since then, Mr. Barnier remained silent politically for three years till Mr. Macron called for snap elections in July this year after Ms. Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) defeated his Renaissance party in the European Parliament elections. In the elections, which were held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7 and Witnessed the highest turnout since 1981, no party won a majority. The leftwing New Popular Front (NPF) finished first with 182 seats, followed by Mr. Macron’s centrist RN.

Mr. Macron rejected the Left’s PM pick, 37-year-old socialist progressive Lucie Castets, claiming that “Institutional stability dictates that this option should not be retained”.

Seeking a consensus builder, Mr. Macron turned to Mr. Barnier with a view that the Brexit negotiator would not overturn his most significant policies and also win the far-right, conservative and centrist votes in the National Assembly. Mr. Barnier, whose appointment comes after 50 days of caretaker government headed by Gabriel Attal, took office on September 5 in the presence of his wife of 40 years, Isabelle Altmayer – a lawyer by profession – at the Prime Minister’s residence at Hôtel Matignon.

However, Mr. Barnier’s problems are far from over. His appointment has already been rejected by the Left. Its influential leader Jean-Luc Melenchon claimed that Mr. Barnier’s appointment flew in the face of the public mandate, asserting, “The election has been stolen”.

While there is no formal time limit for the President to pick a new Cabinet proposed by his Prime Minister, a new government is generally formed within days of the PM’s appointment. Avoiding toppling of his new government, Mr. Barnier must once again navigate political factions to strike a ‘balanced deal’.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) poses with European Commission Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier prior to their meeting at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 31, 2020. Michel Barnier was named as France’s new Prime Minister.
| Photo Credit: AFP

President Emmanuel Macron named EU former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new Prime Minister on Thursday (September 5, 2024) after more than 50 days of caretaker government.

The appointment of the 73-year-old Mr. Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Mr. Macron and his aides to find a candidate who might be able to build loose groupings of backers in parliament and survive possible attempts by Mr. Macron’s opponents to quickly topple the new government that Mr. Barnier will now put together and lead.

A statement from Mr. Macron’s office announcing Mr. Barnier’s appointment said he’d been tasked “with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people.”

“This appointment comes after 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 to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chances of uniting as broadly as possible,” the statement said.

Mr. Barnier, a career politician proud of his humble roots in France’s Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, is no stranger to complex and difficult tasks: He was the European Union’s chief negotiator in the difficult talks with Britain over its Brexit departure from the bloc.

Mr. Barnier replaces Gabriel Attal, who resigned on July 16 following quick-fire legislative elections that produced a divided and hung parliament, plunging France into political turmoil.

But Mr. Macron kept Mr. Attal and his ministers on in a caretaker capacity, handling day-to-day affairs, so political instability wouldn’t overshadow the July 26-Aug. 11 Paris Olympics, when France was in the global spotlight.

In a political career over more than 50 years, Mr. Barnier has served as French foreign, European affairs, environment and agriculture minister — and twice as a European commissioner.

Influential far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon immediately came out against Mr. Barnier’s appointment and predicted the new Prime Minister would not get a majority backing in the bitterly divided National Assembly.

Mr. Melenchon said the appointment flew in the face of the July 7 legislative election results that left parliament’s lower house split between three main blocs — the left, including Mr. Melenchon’s party; the center where Mr. Macron has based his support, and the far right, converging around anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen.

“The election has been stolen,” Mr. Melenchon asserted.