After the Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier was tasked with supporting Macron by Reuters

By Gabriel Stargardter

PARIS (Reuters) – After making a name for himself negotiating Brexit, one of the messiest confrontations Brussels has faced in years, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier now faces an equally daunting task: leading a countries torn apart by deep political deficiencies.

President Emmanuel Macron named Barnier, 73, his prime minister on Thursday, ending a weeks-long search after his ill-fated decision to call snap legislative elections that led to an unruly parliament. It was a choice he could not afford to get wrong, with questions growing over whether he would serve out his second and final term until 2027.

Barnier, a veteran French conservative politician who was the European Union’s negotiator during the divorce talks with Britain, faces an unenviable task, including the need to push imminent budget legislation with serious spending cuts through a parliament deeply divided.

The election appeared to please investors, with government borrowing costs falling slightly and the euro rising.

Barnier’s appointment reflects Macron’s view that the election created a parliament with a center-right tilt, even as a left-wing alliance hastily assembled to block the far-right from power came out on top. The left called the appointment a “democratic coup” and announced street protests.

Crucially, however, Barnier has secured the provisional backing of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN), albeit with strings attached, meaning Barnier is likely to be under pressure from all sides.

“We will advocate for the major pressing issues of the French – the cost of living crisis, security, immigration – to finally be addressed and we reserve all political means of action if this is not the case in the coming weeks,” the RN party said. President Jordan Bardella tweeted.

Born in 1951 near the French Alpine city of Grenoble, Barnier first became an MP at the age of 27 and later served in several French governments, including as foreign minister and agriculture minister.

He has long held senior positions in the EU, including Commissioner for Regional Policy and Commissioner for the Internal Market.

During the Brexit negotiations, he became a bully for Britain’s anti-EU camp, who portrayed him as the personification of Brussels’ obsession with imposing its own rules. Veteran British Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage welcomed Thursday’s announcement, branding Barnier “an EU fanatic”.

AN OLDER, TALLER MACRON?

After Brexit, Barnier turned his attention back to French politics, failing in a 2021 bid to become the center-right Republicans’ presidential candidate despite hardening his views on issues such as immigration.

Barnier’s relations with Macron will come under the microscope. Macron’s aides have pointed out that the president wants a prime minister with at least the appearance of an adversarial relationship, but is also desperate to preserve his legislative achievements, including a hard-won pension reform and billions in tax cuts for households and firms.

Some commentators were skeptical that Barnier would push back much against the president. Communist Party spokesman Ian Brossat said on BFM TV that Barnier was little more than a slightly older and slightly taller version of Macron.

Barnier may also find himself having to reconsider some of his earlier beliefs.

In an interview earlier this year, Barnier said only “political opportunism” prevented Le Pen from cheering louder for Brexit, adding that there should be “no complacency, no weakness” against the “anti- -European” by far. right: “Never, never, never,” he said.

Meanwhile, he was blunt about Macron’s political future, saying in a 2022 interview with Le Figaro that “Macronism … is going to disappear in 2027.”

By appointing Barnier, Macron will hope that doesn’t happen sooner.