French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the International Meeting for Peace in Paris, France, Sept 22, 2024. [Photo/Agencies]
French President Emmanuel Macron named a new right-leaning government on Saturday, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, nearly three months after the inconclusive elections in which a left-wing alliance won the most seats.
The 39-member cabinet is mainly composed of ministers from Macron's centrist alliance and the conservative Republicans party.
Despite the poor performance of Barnier's Republicans party in the elections, Macron appointed the 73-year-old former chief negotiator for the European Union on Brexit as prime minister earlier this month. The new cabinet, approved by Macron, was put together by Barnier after difficult negotiations.
Tough talks on the distribution of cabinet posts continued right until Saturday's official announcement, marked by moments of high tension between Macron and Barnier, French news outlet France 24 reported.
In the June-July snap elections, which Macron called in the wake of a far-right victory in the European Parliament elections, the left-wing alliance, called the New Popular Front, won the most seats but failed to secure a majority and was denied a chance to form a minority government.
On Saturday, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the New Popular Front, called the new cabinet "a government of the general election losers". He said France should "get rid" of the new government "as soon as possible".
Even before the announcement, thousands of people took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday in a left-wing protest to denounce what they called a denial of July's election results.
Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, described the new cabinet as "a reactionary government that gives Democracy the finger".
The far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen has no seats in the new cabinet.
Jordan Bardella, the new leader of the National Rally, condemned the new government shortly after the announcement.
The new government marks "a return to Macronism" and has "no future whatsoever", he said.
Jean-Noel Barrot, 41, has been named the new foreign minister, after serving as junior minister for European affairs since February and before that as Macron's minister for digital affairs.
His father Jacques Barrot, a prominent French politician, served in various ministerial posts and also as a European commissioner.
"Good with a new French foreign minister with a deep background in both European and digital affairs," Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former Swedish prime minister, wrote on X.
Antoine Armand, 33, who is former member of the National Assembly, will be the new minister for economy, finance and industrial and digital sovereignty. He is the youngest to hold the position in the country's recent history.
Sebastien Lecornu, 38, a close ally of Macron, has kept his job as defense minister.
No confidence threat
Barnier's hard-won new government faced pressure from day one on Sunday as threats of a no-confidence motion in parliament multiplied.
To pass, a no-confidence motion needs an absolute majority in parliament, which would then force the government to step down immediately — currently an unlikely scenario as the far right and the leftist bloc, sworn enemies, would have to vote in unison.
The first major challenge for Barnier will be on Oct 1, when he is expected to deliver his general policy speech before the parliament. He is also expected to soon submit a 2025 budget plan to address the country's dire financial situation.
Last week, Barnier called the situation "very serious", clearly referring to the public sector deficit that is projected to hit 5.6 percent of GDP this year and go even higher next year, also beyond the EU's limit.
"After the left won the elections, French citizens end up with the most far-right, unqualified, and conservative government ever nominated," Julien Migozzi, a research fellow at Oxford University, said on X. "This coup, decided by Macron, will further damage trust in electoral processes and democratic institutions, all for Le Pen's benefits."
