Appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron this Thursday, Michel Barnier is a historic face of French politics. But behind the public man hides a very secret and above all smooth private life and family…
Michel Barnier, 73, was just chosen this Thursday, September 5 by President Emmanuel Macron to succeed Gabriel Attal at Matignon. The former Minister of Agriculture under Nicolas Sarkozy, European elected official and chief Brexit negotiator for the European Union is an old hand in French politics. But while he is a relatively familiar face to the French, Michel Barnier is, on the other hand, very discreet about his private life.
Married for 42 years to Isabelle Altmayer, a former lawyer who turned communications specialist, Michel Barnier is living the perfect love affair and has always led his family life away from the spotlight. The couple had three children: Nicolas, Benjamin and Laetitia. The eldest, Nicolas Barnier, 33, is following in his father’s footsteps as he is involved in politics. A candidate on a Belgian liberal list in the 2019 European elections, he has been a project manager at the Presidency of the Senate since 2021. He is also involved in humanitarian actions in Haiti.
Isabelle Altmayer, for her part, works in the shadows. After being a lawyer for 10 years, she turned to communications. Since 2016, she has been responsible for communications and fundraising for the foundation “La vie au Grand Air”, which works in child protection. Between 2007 and 2010, when her husband was Minister of Agriculture, she was responsible for youth and women’s health at the Ministry of Health. The couple therefore share a common passion for politics and have been moving forward hand in hand for more than four decades.
Sport every day, ten books to his name… A well-ordered life
A great sportsman despite his 73 years, Michel Barnier is a fan of cycling and swimming, which he practices almost daily. He was also the co-president of the organizing committee for the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992. Author of no less than ten political works, including the latest “La Grande illusion: journal secret du Brexit” (Gallimard) where he recounts the behind-the-scenes of the negotiations he led, Michel Barnier is a man of files. But behind this serious and austere man emerges a certain lack of humor, as he himself admits. “I am perhaps too serious… I have a lot of room for improvement,” he had confided in the past.
It must be said that Michel Barnier, “the Montagnard”, does not really have the profile of a prankster. Born in La Tronche in Isère in 1951, he is the youngest of three boys. His father Jean was the boss of a company manufacturing jewelry boxes. His mother Denise, a committed Catholic and feminist, had founded the League against road violence in Haute-Savoie, after the death of one of her grandsons in an accident. A tragedy which, according to his relatives, forged the character of the politician. In the coming weeks, he will need to prove it.