France: Emmanuel Macron appointed country’s Conservative Michel Barnier Prime Minister

The president made a final decision on who would become its prime minister and concluded that he was right about the position is former EU head for Brexit, Michel Barnier. Two months after the early election held in France, Emmanuel Macron examined whether the 73-year-old Michel Barnier option would be correct. The conservative politician was appointed today (05.09.2024) Prime Minister of their country, and in the past held various government roles and was also Commissioner of the European Union. The French president had examined a number of potential candidates for the prime ministership in recent weeks, but none of them seemed to have garnered the necessary support guaranteed by a stable government. However, there was no confirmation that things would be different for Barnier or for Emmanuel Macron’s ally, Francois Bairu, whom the French media also reported as a potential candidate. According to reports, there were Barnier’s contacts with the presidential staff given more details, before a new prime minister was finally appointed. The far-right party “National Alarm”, which is one of the largest parties in the parliament after the election in early July, has hinted that it will not directly block the nomination of Barnier or Bairu, if they meet specific conditions. Michel Barnier is a staunch European and conservative political career. In the speech he gave during his failed campaign for the presidential nomination of the conservative party in 2021 he said that immigration is uncontrolled, something with which the National Alert agrees. As National Alarm MP Sebastian Senu told BFM TV, the far right party will expect to see what Barnier has to say about immigration and about changing the French electoral system. For his part also the Member of the National Alarm, Laurent Zakobelli, said that one of the conditions is the shortest possible dissolution of the parliament, which is placed in time in early July the following year. “The National Alarm wants a prime minister committed to breaking up the parliament as soon as possible and establishing a simple proportional to the parliamentary elections,” Zakobelli told TF1. And he added: “They take out those who ruled France for 40 years.” It is noted that the National Alarm’s far right party is not a major supporter of Michel Barnier, although they seem to have some common views.