Long-awaited new French Prime Minister makes his first statement

The newly appointed French Prime Minister Michel Barnier took over from Gabriel Attal, who has finally resigned, and delivered his first speech, BFMTV reports.

Barnier noted that he was “humbled” to take up his new position and that he wanted to “respond to the challenges, the anger, the suffering, the feeling of abandonment, of injustice” and to “find solutions that work with all those who, of good will, will want to resolve the country’s numerous and profound difficulties”.

“We are in a difficult moment. It is important that this new page be useful for the French and France,” Barnier stated.

Michel Barnier said that in a few days, at most in a few weeks, he would present the legislative priorities and proposals of the new government to the parliament.

“Now the Prime Minister is expected to tell the truth, even if it is difficult. First and foremost, the Prime Minister must speak the truth about the financial debt, the “environmental” debt already burdening our children, and the influence of our country in Europe. But above all, we must act, not talk, to find solutions that will work,” Barnier said. 

Future developments will require “a lot of attention and a lot of respect, especially between the government and the parliament” and all political actors, according to Barnier.

After protracted consultations on the prime minister’s candidacy, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Michel Barnier’s appointment to this post on September 5. He takes over from Gabriel Attal, France’s youngest prime minister in modern history.

Barnier, 73, led the EU’s negotiations with the UK on its exit from the EU in 2016-2021. Prior to that, the conservative politician held positions in various French governments and served as an EU commissioner.

Barnier will face the difficult task of finding compromises and building coalitions to ensure that the parliament supports essential initiatives. After all, none of the political blocs has a majority, and there are huge differences between the liberals, the far left, and the far right on key issues.

Emmanuel Macron faced mounting accusations from the left when he refused to appoint a candidate from the left-wing New People’s Front bloc, which won the election, as prime minister. Instead, he began consulting with political parties before making his decision on a new prime minister.

While the left-wing parties have promised to vote for Michel Barnier’s censure, the far-right Rassemblement National and its 126 MPs are waiting to hear the new Prime Minister’s general policy speech before making a decision.