Michel Barnier, a former minister and former European commissioner, was appointed this Thursday (5) as Prime Minister of France by President Emmanuel Macron, as announced by the Elysee Palace.
Barnier has been tasked with “forming a unity government at the service of the country and the French people,” the French presidency said in a statement.
Barnier’s appointment comes “after an unprecedented cycle of consultations” in which Macron “guaranteed that the prime minister and the next government would meet the conditions to have the greatest possible stability”.
The announcement of his appointment came just minutes after the former minister emerged from a private meeting with Macron at the Elysée.
Barnier’s inauguration will take place this afternoon, at 4 pm (local time, 11 am in Brasília), at the Matignon Palace, the official residence of the head of government.
Barnier, 73, will be the oldest prime minister of the Fifth Republic and will replace the youngest to hold the post, Gabriel Attal, who took office last January at the age of 34.
The appointment comes after two weeks of intense political consultations by Macron and when, on Saturday, it will be two months since the second round of legislative elections, which left a National Assembly without a clear majority and enormously divided.
Barnier was chosen by Macron after other figures he had previously considered faced vetoes from the left and right, which are two of the three big blocs in the current National Assembly.
Ecologist Party national secretary Marine Tondelier accused Macron of “submitting” to right-wing leader Marine Le Pen as the latter threatened to censor other potential prime ministers, including conservative Xavier Bertrand.
“In the end, we already know who decides. Her name is Marine Le Pen. It was she who Macron decided to submit to,” criticized Tondelier, in statements to the broadcaster. FranceInfo.
Who is Michel Barnier?
The new Prime Minister has extensive political experience in France and in the institutions of the European Union (EU).
His last role was as European negotiator for Brexit between 2016 and 2021, after having been European Commissioner on two occasions: for the Internal Market (2010-14) and for Regional Policy (1999-2004).
He was also Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2005 during the presidency of Jacques Chirac, and of Agriculture between 2007 and 2009 with Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée, and before that he was Minister of the Environment and European Affairs.
In a long political career that began in 1973, he was also a member of the European Parliament and a deputy and senator in France. (with EFE Agency)
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