After Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier tasked with keeping Macron afloat By Reuters

By Gabriel Stargardter

PARIS (Reuters) – Having made his name with one of the most chaotic Brexit negotiations Brussels has seen in recent years, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier now faces an equally daunting task: governing a country torn by deep political divides.

President Emmanuel Macron named Barnier, 73, as his prime minister on Thursday, ending a weeks-long search after his fateful decision to call early legislative elections that left a fractious parliament. It was a choice he could not afford to get wrong, amid growing questions about whether he would see out his second and final term until 2027.

Barnier, a seasoned conservative French politician who acted as the European Union’s negotiator during the divorce talks with Britain, faces an unenviable task, including steering a budget bill with sweeping cuts through a deeply divided parliament.

The choice seemed to please investors: government borrowing costs fell slightly and the euro rose.

Barnier’s appointment reflects Macron’s view that the election would produce a centre-right parliament, despite the initial left-wing alliance hastily assembled to keep the far right out of power. The left called the appointment a “democratic coup” and announced street protests.

Crucially, however, Barnier has received cautious support from Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN). However, there are strings attached, meaning Barnier is likely to come under pressure from all sides.

“We will advocate for the greatest emergencies facing the French – the cost of living crisis, security, immigration – to finally be addressed, and we reserve all political means if this does not happen in the coming weeks,” tweeted RN party leader Jordan Bardella.

Barnier was born in 1951 near the French Alpine city of Grenoble. He first became a legislator at the age of 27 and later played a leading role in several French governments, including foreign minister and agriculture minister.

He held senior EU positions for a long time, including Commissioner for Regional Policy and Commissioner for the Internal Market.

During the Brexit negotiations, he became a bogeyman for Britain’s anti-EU camp, which portrayed him as the personification of Brussels’ obsession with upholding its rules. Veteran British Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage greeted Thursday’s announcement by branding Barnier “an EU fanatic”.

AN OLDER, LONGER MACRON?

After Brexit, Barnier turned his attention back to French politics. In 2021, his bid to become the Republican center-right presidential candidate failed, despite hardening his positions on issues such as immigration.

Barnier’s relations with Macron will come under scrutiny. Macron’s aides insisted the president wanted a prime minister with at least the appearance of an adversarial relationship, but he is also desperate to preserve his legislative achievements, including a hard-won pension reform and billions in tax cuts for households and businesses.

Some commentators were skeptical that Barnier would go much against the president. Communist Party spokesman Ian Brossat told BFM TV that Barnier was little more than a slightly older, slightly taller version of Macron.

Barnier may also have to reconsider some of his previous beliefs.

In an interview earlier this year, Barnier said it was only “political opportunism” that prevented Le Pen from cheering more loudly for Brexit, adding that there should be “no complacency, no weakness” in the face of the “anti-European positions” of the far right: “Never, never, never,” he said.

Meanwhile, he has been outspoken about Macron’s political future. In an interview with Le Figaro in 2022, he said that “Macronism will disappear in 2027.”

By appointing Barnier, Macron hopes that this will not happen sooner.