Michel Barnier, 73, succeeds the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic. This Thursday, September 5, Emmanuel Macron appointed the former right-wing minister and European Commissioner to Matignon. “The President has ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government will create the conditions to be as stable as possible and to give themselves the chance to unite as broadly as possible.”the Elysée Palace announced in a press release.
After 60 days of political crisis since the second round of the legislative elections which resulted in a National Assembly without a majority, a review of the reactions within the political class. On the left, which sees its candidate Lucie Castets officially swept aside, the expected anger is rumbling. On the rebellious side, there is thus denunciation of a “Stolen election.” “The message was denied”storms their leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, according to whom this new Prime Minister “carries the message of a negation of the French people.” The president of the LFI group in the National Assembly, Mathilde Panot, castigated a “unacceptable coup in a democracy” : “By appointing Michel Barnier, the President refuses to respect popular sovereignty and the choice made at the ballot box.” And to call once again for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron and to demonstrate on September 7.
The leader of the socialists, Olivier Faure, assures for his part that France is entering “in a crisis of regime”. “Democratic denial taken to its peak: a Prime Minister from the party that came in 4th position and who did not even participate in the Republican front”he castigated on X. Earlier, the leader of the PS had recalled that “in all democracies in the world,” “it is the coalition that comes out on top that is called upon to form a government. Never the party that lost the election.”
At Les Ecologistes, Marine Tondelier considers that the political crisis of recent weeks, which was supposed to end with the nomination of Michel Barnier, is “deplorable from a democratic point of view.” “Who are we kidding?” asks the national secretary of the Greens in a video published on X: “All that for that…”
The French Communist Party, through its national secretary, Fabien Roussel, deplores “the choice of a union of the rights.” “By appointing Michel Barnier, former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commissioner promoting neoliberal dogmas, the President of the Republic is choosing continuity in the policies implemented over the past seven years,” he wrote in a statement. He assures that this choice was made to avoid an immediate motion of censure in the National Assembly with “the complicity of the National Rally” and indicates that his training counts “use all means to [sa] disposition to combat a policy which would turn its back on the interests of France, starting with the censorship of the government.”
“No blank check”
The presidential camp also expressed its views on the appointment of the new occupant of Matignon this Thursday, with a ready-made element of language: “The Socialist Party never wanted to support the candidacy of Bernard Cazeneuve”Emmanuel Macron “therefore chose a right-wing Prime Minister”notes Renaissance. The party founded by the President of the Republic assures that, for its part, there will be no “no automatic censorship” of the Barnier government. The political party nevertheless promises that it will carry “substantive demands, without a blank check”. According to Renaissance, the head of state has “fulfilled its constitutional role” with a view to a “stable government”.
In a message published on X – accompanied by a short video – following the announcement of Michel Barnier’s arrival on rue de Varenne, the resigning Prime Minister Gabriel Attal reacted succinctly: “In a word: thank you.” “The bond we have is the most precious thing I have. Count on me to continue to weave it.”he adds, assuring that occupying this position “was the honor of his life”The transfer of power between the two men should take place at 6 p.m., according to the entourage of the former occupant of Matignon.
On the right, Xavier Bertrand plays it fair play minimally. Strongly tipped for Matignon until Wednesday evening, the president of Hauts-de-France welcomed the appointment of the new Prime Minister, in a message on X, in minimum service mode. “I extend to Michel Barnier and his government all my best wishes for success in the service of France and in the interests of the French people in the face of the many challenges that lie ahead.”he wrote.
Finally, the RN is showing itself to be benevolent – for the moment – towards Michel Barnier. The far-right party, which has long threatened to vote an immediate censure against any new Prime Minister not coming from its ranks, from Castets to Cazeneuve, via Beaudet and Bertrand, has changed its mind. A few minutes before the announcement of Michel Barnier’s nomination, the leadership of Marine Le Pen’s party finally declared that its deputies «[attendront] the general policy statement, while being attentive to respect for RN voters”. The National Rally “will judge his general policy speech on its merits”added Jordan Bardella, the party’s president. The leniency of the far-right party could be short-lived.
