The new Prime Minister was seen for the first time during an official trip with the President of the Republic this Sunday, September 8, during the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
Their first public appearance together since the start of the political crisis. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron and the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier were seen at the official stand of the Stade de France this Sunday, September 8 during the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games;
Michel Barnier was present in the stands, behind Brigitte Macron and alongside the resigning Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
When the official stand was filmed by the cameras and the giant screens in the stadium showed Emmanuel Macron and Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, the President of the Republic was roundly booed by the public.
“Humility” and “determination”
“I don’t think I’m here by default,” Michel Barnier replied to a journalist who asked him about his appointment, reported our colleagues at Le Parisien. This week as Prime Minister has been “very busy,” he added, considering himself to be in an “attitude of humility and great determination.”
Very busy because on Monday, September 2, his name was not mentioned on the TV sets to succeed Gabriel Attal. But the Savoyard, known for his role in the Brexit negotiations, was preferred to the Bernard Cazeneuve and Xavier Bertrand tracks this Thursday, September 5.
This Sunday, before going to the Stade de France, he continued his consultations to form a government by receiving the leaders of Horizons, including his predecessor at Matignon Edouard Philippe, then the head of the MoDem François Bayrou.
The leader of the Horizons deputies, Laurent Marcangeli, highlighted, at the end of the interview, “convergences” with the new tenant of Matignon, not excluding the participation of his party in the government, reports Agence France Presse.
These consultations will continue at Matignon on Monday, September 9, with the reception of representatives of the Liot group from 3 p.m.