Macron finally appoints new French PM - and picks Brexit-basher Michel Barnier

Nearly two months after the second round of vote in France to elect members of the National Assembly, Emmanuel Macron has appointed the new Prime Minister of the country - Michel Barnier.

The nomination follows weeks of discussions across the political spectrum to put forward a candidate.

Mr Macron's government has been reeling since his party lost its majority in parliament after the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) outperformed the French President's group in the July election. Marine le Pen's National Rally (RN) also performed well, albeit didn't manage to win the election following an agreement between the French centre and left to keep the hard-right party out of government.

Ms Le Pen has ruled out the RN being part of a government led by Mr Barnier, 73, the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator and a veteran of French politics.

Before his appointment takes effect he must face a vote of confidence by MPs in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament.

Mr Macron and his aides have for weeks been searching for a candidate able to pull together backers in parliament and survive possible bids by the President's opponents to topple the new government Mr Barnier will form and lead.

Announcing the appointment, Mr Macron's office said he had been tasked “with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people.”

The statement read: “This appointment comes after an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the president ensured that the prime minister and the future government would meet the conditions to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chances of uniting as broadly as possible."

Barnier is replacing Gabriel Attal, who stepped down on July 16 following quick-fire legislative elections called by Mr Macron that returned a divided and hung parliament, bringing further political turmoil to Paris.

But Mr Macron decided to keep Attal and his ministers in their posts in a caretaker capacity in a bid to maintain political stability during the Paris Olympics, which took place between July 26 and August 11, when the country was under the global spotlight.

During his time as the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator, Mr Barnier fiercely clashed with several UK politicians, including former UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

In his 2021 account of the negotiations, called My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion, the EU supporter described the UK's exit from the bloc as “a lose-lose game with no added value for the United Kingdom or the EU".

He has been seen as a moderate for most of his career but toughened his language during his failed bid in 2021 to get his conservative party's nomination for the presidency, saying immigration had gotten out of control.

Many in Paris regard Mr Barnier as more acceptable to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, which has signalled it would not automatically back a vote of no confidence against him, as it would for the initial favourites, conservative ex-minister Xavier Bertrand and former Socialist PM Bernard Cazeneuve.

But some came out strongly against the appointment, including Jean-Luc Melenchon, the influential far-left leader who lambasted the move and predicted that the new PM would not be able to secure a majority backing. He also claimed the election had been "stolen".

Melenchon furiously insisted the appointment was at odds with the July 7 legislative election results that saw the National Assembly between three main blocs, made up of the left, which includes Melenchon’s party; Macron's centrist coalition; and the far-right, which converged around Ms Le Pen.