As the threat of censure looms, the new Prime Minister has the task of forming a new government. RN President Jordan Bardella assured on Saturday that his party was “unavoidable” in the new legislature.
The essentials
- Two days after his appointment to Matignon, Michel Barnier faces his first demonstrations, supported by a left accusing Emmanuel Macron of having allied himself with the RN to avoid censorship.
- Speaking to BFMTV, RN president Jordan Bardella assured that his party was “unavoidable” in the new legislature. “Nothing can be done without the RN,” he believes. The Prime Minister is “under surveillance,” he added: “Michel Barnier will have to integrate into the action that will be his the subjects that are those of the National Rally.”
- During the 8pm news on TF1, the new incumbent of Matignon made some initial commitments, which should please the far right. Among his priorities: “Controlling migratory flows […] with concrete measures.” He also assured that he respected “all political forces”, including the RN. “There are 11 million French people who voted RN, and their votes count.”
- Michel Barnier faces difficult choices in forming his government. On TF1’s 8pm news, the Republican assured that “it will not be just a right-wing government”, and wants to “open the table to all those who want it”, including “people from the left”. However, Olivier Faure, the head of the PS, has already assured on France Inter on Thursday morning that “no PS personality will enter” this new executive.
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12:48 – Michel Barnier will have to be “attentive to the demands” of the RN, assures Jordan Bardella
“Michel Barnier will have to integrate into his actions the issues that are those of the National Rally,” Jordan Bardella told the press on Saturday morning. The president of the National Rally believes that “nothing can be done” without his party, and assures that the Prime Minister is “under surveillance.” He added: “I hope that the Prime Minister and the future government can not only get to work, but that they can be attentive to the demands that are now ours.”
12:25 – Michel Barnier’s first visit this afternoon, to Necker Hospital
Michel Barnier will go to Necker hospital this afternoon, he said. The Parisian. This is his very first trip as Prime Minister. His entourage affirms that “the subject of health is a priority” for the new tenant of Matignon. During this trip, he should visit the SAMU call center and meet representatives of the healthcare world during a round table.
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Michel Barnier was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday, September 5. In the columns of OpinionWednesday, September 4, the name of the former European Union negotiator of the Brexit conditions and candidate for the right-wing primary for the 2022 presidential election, who at the time intended to “bring together the right, the center and others”, had appeared as the best option. Minister under Balladur, Juppé and Fillon, deputy of Savoie, senator or even European deputy, the native of La Tronche, near Grenoble (Isère), now aged 73, presents a political CV that is, to say the least, well filled.
Can Michel Barnier escape a motion of censure?
The former Brexit negotiator should, like the others, be censored by all the deputies of the New Popular Front. “Barnier is a right-wing policy. The issue is no longer even the casting, but the line. Macron must now assume what he wants as a coalition in Parliament,” reacted the socialist Pierre Jouvet to the capital’s daily newspaper on Wednesday evening. The line within the left has been quite clear since the results of the legislative elections: any government with a different orientation than theirs will be censored. If hesitations can divide the alliance of the New Popular Front on a few center-left profiles mentioned for Matignon, there is no doubt about a censorship of the PS, ecologist, LFI and PCF deputies against an LR personality.
Michel Barnier could, however, govern if he is not censured by the National Rally deputies. This is in reality the decisive factor for a right-wing personality to be appointed to Matignon, given the weakness of the Macronist bloc and the refusal of the left-wing bloc to participate in a coalition with the Macronists: only an implicit agreement from Marine Le Pen can allow an LR Prime Minister to remain at the head of a government. According to the first statements by RN personalities, this Thursday, September 5, it is unlikely that the RN will not vote for a motion of censure against Michel Barnier.