The “most right-wing government of the Fifth Republic”. This is what the first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, estimated this Sunday on France 3. Michel Barnier will try to respond to the criticism this Sunday evening on France 2 while his government, barely marked, is already marked by tensions with the deputies of the central bloc and under the threat of censure from the left and the National Rally (RN).
Without repeating the same words as Olivier Faure, the spanish daily The World believes that the new government is “marked to the right”, “more than the previous one” led by Gabriel Attal. The new team around Michel Barnier has “marked a strong shift to the right”, indicates for its part The New York Times“Emmanuel Macron wanted as broad a coalition as possible to guarantee stability, but Michel Barnier had difficulty attracting moderate socialists into the government,” recalls the American daily.
“Satisfy many appetites”
For its part, the Swiss daily View indicates that a “small, frugal government of around twenty ministers, with the priority of making the State function in a period of announced austerity, would have been seen as proof of an awareness of the difficulties to come”. “But no! Michel Barnier must have satisfied many appetites”, analyses this media. Blick recalls that this government “does not represent the votes cast in the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7”, where the left came out on top.
“It was difficult to form this government, the first coalition government that France has had,” revealed “a few hours” after a demonstration of several thousand left-wing supporters on Saturday against the Macron-Barnier tandem, notes The World. Michel Barnier has made his team official “in pain”, abounds The TimeIt took “two weeks of negotiations with the different blocs to appoint 39 ministers”, including 17 full-time ministers, he recalls. The Washington Post.
“This executive may not last long”
What is most striking The World about the Barnier government, “which we do not know how long” it will last given the “unusual” political instability that the country is experiencing, is that it is the “most fragile government in decades”, and even “the most fragile of the Fifth Republic”. The “long-term prospects for stability are far from clear”, abounds The New York Times. “This executive may not last long and, in reality, it will depend on whether or not Marine Le Pen wants to bring it down, by supporting the motion of censure announced by the left,” notes The World.
The RN’s threats “highlighted the vulnerability” of Michel Barnier’s team, according to his analysis The Washington Post. The American daily recalls that since the early legislative elections, France has experienced “months of political uncertainty, even acrimony”. “This prolonged uncertainty has left the country rudderless. It has not been able to advance the 2025 Budget or address a growing budget deficit. The interregnum has also allowed animosities to fester”, notes The Washington Post. For Financial Timesmoreover, the “Emmanuel Macron camp seeks to protect its pro-business legacy” by keeping aside calls for tax increases.