French President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as prime minister almost two months after France's snap elections ended in political deadlock.
Mr Barnier, 73, is the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator and led talks with the UK government between 2016 and 2019.
A veteran of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, he has had a long political career and filled various senior posts, both in France and within the EU.
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Mr Macron had considered a string of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of which mustered enough support to guarantee a stable government, and there is no guarantee Mr Barnier's government will manage to get reforms adopted by a hung parliament.
ReplyDeletefar-right National Rally (RN), whose party is one of the biggest in parliament after the early July election, signalled earlier on Thursday it would not immediately reject Mr Barnier, if he met certain conditions.
ReplyDeleteMr Barnier had been given the task of forming a unifying government "in the service of the country and the French people", the presidency stressed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Mr Macron's choice of prime minister has already caused discontent within the the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which won the most seats in the July snap election and whose own candidate for prime minister was rejected by the president.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the radical France Unbowed (LFI) - the biggest of the four parties that make up NFP - reacted angrily. The election had been "stolen from the French people", he claimed.
Die französische Linke hat ihre Absicht angekündigt, ein Misstrauensvotum gegen Michel Barnier zu stellen, der am Donnerstag zum Premierminister ernannt wurde.
ReplyDeleteDie Linke hat nach den Wahlergebnissen die meisten Sitze im Parlament - 182 von 577 Sitzen.