Michel Barnier’s first list widely contested by Emmanuel Macron

There is uncertainty at Matignon. Fourteen days after his appointment, Michel Barnier has still not announced his government. He was due to meet Gabriel Attal yesterday morning and the LR executives yesterday evening, but both meetings were cancelled at the last minute by Matignon. Discussions between the Prime Minister and the main components of the relative majority are becoming increasingly complicated.

“The Prime Minister continues his work”

Getting the best portfolios is the goal of the Macronists and the LR who are all doing their utmost to have weight. In the middle, Michel Barnier is trying to assert his authority. According to a pillar of the centrist bloc, the Matignon tenant submitted a first list of ministers to Emmanuel Macron the day before yesterday, but the head of state then asked him to review his copy…

The cause: the over-representation of his political family, the Republican right… and the low number of positions allocated to the presidential camp. Information denied by Michel Barnier’s entourage, who notably argue that the balance of sensibilities mentioned in no way represents the project desired by the Prime Minister.

The former Brexit negotiator, for his part, “says nothing, it’s the greatest vagueness”, notes an advisor to the executive. The latter goes so far as to wonder whether Michel Barnier will not throw in the towel before even having formed his government. In response, a close friend of the Matignon tenant hammers home: “the Prime Minister is continuing his work”.