President Emmanuel Macron has named the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s next prime minister.
Barnier was announced in the role on Thursday after a caretaker government was in place for more than 50 days.
The 73-year-old led the EU’s talks with Britain, from 2016 to 2021, over its exit from the bloc.
Before that, the conservative politician held roles in various French governments and was also the EU’s commissioner.
Barnier’s appointment follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who could form a new government, two months after a snap election defeat.
The leader of the right-wing populist National Rally Party and Macron’s two-time presidential rival, Marine Le Pen said on social media platform X that Barnier “seems to meet at least the first criterion that we had requested.”
“That is to say, someone who is respectful of the different political forces and capable of addressing the National Rally, which is the first group in the National Assembly,” she added.
Left-Wing
Last month, Macron said he would not agree to a government led by the left-wing New Popular Front alliance (NFP), further extending the ongoing multi-party stalemate that has prevented the nation from forming a government since a snap election in June.
He said at the time, that France needed institutional stability and that a government led by the NFP would immediately face a no-confidence vote from all other parties.
“The Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communists have not yet proposed ways to cooperate with other political forces. It is now up to them to do so,” said Macron.
He said he would start new consultations with party leaders on Tuesday, and urged the left to cooperate with other political forces.
Macron called a snap election on June 9 that delivered a hung parliament creating political uncertainty. He has been holding talks on a new government since the election, and said he would continue to do so.
No group emerged from the snap election with a clear majority, with the vote evenly split between the NFP, Macron’s centrist political party En Marche, and the right-wing National Rally.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times