Prime minister Michel Barnier says he has chosen his new government to lead France, after days of deal-making with various political parties.
He will announce the members of his new cabinet before Sunday, after French President Emmanuel Macron seemingly approved of Mr Barnier’s choices in a meeting yesterday evening (September 19).
There will be 38 ministerial positions overall, with 16 ‘full’ roles being the larger traditional portfolios such as health, finance, interior, etc, sources have claimed.
Among these 16 major ministers, seven will come from Macron’s centrist party (Renaissance), three from the right wing Les Républicains, as well as two from MoDem and one from Horizons (the centrist parties in the president’s alliance in the Assemblée nationale).
There will also be one cabinet position each for the unaffiliated right-wing, centre-right, and left-wing MP groups in the chamber.
No ministerial positions have been given to any MPs from the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) alliance sources say, despite hopes that some Socialist Party or Green MPs would cross the floor to join a “national unity’ style government.
No positions have been given to the far-right Rassemblement National either, with which all parties have refused to work.
However, the new government will need to rely on Marine Le Pen and her allies not voting in favour of a motion of no confidence against the government.
Read more: Why far right support is key to whether Michel Barnier stays as French PM
What is the political reaction to the news?
The announcement comes after several days of tense negotiations between the various parties.
Right-wing MPs, including those in the same Les Républicains party as Mr Barnier, have been sceptical over his plans to raise taxes, including the potential return of a wealth tax.
Read more: New French PM Michel Barnier ‘does not rule out tax rises’
However, Prisca Thevenot, spokeswoman for the outgoing government of Gabriel Attal, said taxes for the middle-class and ‘people who work’ would not increase under Mr Barnier.
President Macron and some of his political allies were concerned over the approach the new prime minister was taking.
They reportedly believed Mr Barnier was too focused on bringing in right-leaning politicians, instead of those in the centre and the left, hampering the chances of creating a ‘national unity’ government crossing the political spectrum.
The president has since seemingly approved of the new government, despite it reportedly containing just one left-leaning minister.
Left-wing parties have responded in indignation to the reported make-up of the new cabinet.
National coordinator of the far-left La France Insoumise group Manuel Bompard called it a “government of losers”.
He questioned how the government could contain three Les Républicains ministers, despite them only gaining 6% of the vote during this year’s legislative elections, during an interview with France Bleu.
MP Sandrine Rousseau of the Green party also criticised the new government on X (formerly Twitter).
“The government is going to bring together all the losers from the last election and have the support, without participation, of those against whom we made the [Front Républicain],” she posted.
She is referring to the informal alliance between the NFP and Macronist candidates to block far-right MPs from winning seats in the legislative elections this July, and the reliance on the new government to not be voted out by the far-right.
“We were supposed to have a change, but what we got was a Restoration,” said former president and Socialist Party MP François Hollande, to French media outlet France Bleu.
“Why was there a dissolution if it was only to get more of the same, even more right-wing?” he added.
“We are going to go from a centre-right and right-wing government to a right-wing and centre-right government,” said Socialist Party Senator Patrick Kanner.
Who will be in the cabinet?
Currently, there is no official confirmation of who will take up a position, but some politicians have confirmed they are not part of the new cabinet.
This includes head of the right-wing Les Républicains in the Assemblée nationale, Laurent Wauquiez.
Sources say Bruno Retailleau, a right-wing MP will be the new Interior Minister, giving Les Républicains control over at least one of the major cabinet roles.
Politicians including Edouard Philippe, former prime minister under President Macron, said Mr Barnier should not rule out bringing back some of the ministers who worked under outgoing caretaker PM Gabriel Attal.
However, caretaker Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who publicly criticised Mr Barnier for a lack of transparency over potential tax rises, has confirmed he will not be joining the new cabinet.
