When will the members of France’s new government be announced?

France’s newly appointed prime minister Michel Barnier says he plans to form a new government next week. 

Mr Barnier, who was appointed PM on September 5, says he is “doing things methodically and seriously,” and this is why no ministers have officially yet been appointed. He was speaking during a visit to Reims yesterday.

Members of his entourage however said the deadline was “an objective but (...) must not be a constraint,” to proceedings. 

Mr Barnier is attempting to form a cabinet from the various groups in the Assemblée nationale, including MPs from the president’s centrist coalition, and the right wing Les Républicains group to which Mr Barnier belongs. 

He said that there will be “a new government, not a reshuffle,” despite the largest contingent of the voting bloc backing the government being from the centrist group. 

Former prime minister Edouard Philippe however said he sees “no problem” with ministers from the previous government taking new positions in the cabinet – or continuing in their current role.

“There are some excellent ministers in the current government,” he said to BFMTV yesterday (September 11).

Who may be given a ministerial position?

The right-wing Les Républicains group, which initially stated they would not join a coalition with the centrists, announced after Mr Barnier’s appointment that they would now be open to doing so. 

Gérard Larcher, who leads the right-wing group in the Senate, announced on Tuesday that party members had the green light to accept ministerial appointments.

Previously, right-wing MPs said they would only vote in support of certain key legislation as opposed to being part of an official coalition government. 

One group that Mr Barnier may find more difficult to convince is the Socialist Party. 

The party is part of the left-wing alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), which won the most seats in July’s legislative elections, despite falling significantly short of an overall majority. 

The Socialist Party is the second largest contingent of the NFP, having more than 60 MPs, and if Mr Barnier could convince all – or even some – to join his coalition, it would be a major coup and help the new government pass key legislation through sheer voting power. 

An absolute majority (289 or more of the 577 seats in the chamber) would be required to guarantee legislation could be passed via the standard voting procedure, and not other methods such as article 49.3.

Read more: What is France’s article 49.3?

Members of the party however are so far standing firm in their refusal to join. 

Former Socialist Party president and MP for Corrèze François Hollande said he “does not see how Socialists who are preparing a motion of no confidence against a government can join that same government.” 

The NFP is currently preparing to launch an immediate motion of no confidence against the new government once it is confirmed. Socialist MPs, as part of the alliance, are expected to vote in favour of this.

However, Mr Hollande conceded that some people may be “tempted” to join Mr Barnier, depending on the political situation and how much deadlock the government faces.

The majority of members asked however, including leader of the party Olivier Faure, have ruled out joining the government.

“I will not take part in a right-wing government supported by the extreme right,” said Socialist Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region. 

Mr Barnier’s hardline stance on immigration would be a factor against joining the government for many and is also causing some concern for members of Mr Macron’s party who veer towards the left.

It is extremely unlikely that any of the 142 far-right MPs (126 Rassemblement National MPs and its 16 allies) will be invited to join the cabinet.

Candidates were largely blocked out of the second-round of the legislatures by the so-called Front Républicain, which saw left-wing and centrists candidates drop out in favour for each other to prevent far-right MPs from winning seats.

However, the party believes that due to their ability to initiate a motion of no confidence at any time – which would in theory be supported by the left and immediately topple the government – it will be able to dictate some policy points, including on the topic of immigration.

Read more: Marine Le Pen: ‘We expect Michel Barnier to act’