LIVE. New Prime Minister: Emmanuel Macron appoints Michel Barnier to Matignon, follow the situation

Michel Barnier lors de son passage à Nîmes en 2021. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Dénouement après 60 jours de casse-tête politique pour Emmanuel Macron. Le chef de l'Etat a nommé Michel Barnier Premier ministre ce jeudi 5 septembre.

It took Emmanuel Macron 60 days to solve this political puzzle. It seems that the outcome is taking shape this Thursday, September 5. Michel Barnier is appointed Prime Minister.

What to remember

Michel Barnier is appointed Prime Minister. The transfer of power is expected at 4 p.m., according to information from Le Parisien. In order not to censor a government, the RN is calling for the introduction of proportional representation in legislative elections. 1:21 p.m.

Michel Barnier is appointed Prime Minister

1:39 p.m.

The reaction of Renaissance, the presidential party

Renaissance will not vote for “automatic censure” against the government that Michel Barnier is to form, but will make “substantive demands, without a blank check” , Emmanuel Macron's party announced on Thursday, for whom the president has “fulfilled his constitutional role” with a view to a “stable government”.

1:29 p.m.

Rally and stability

Emmanuel Macron asked the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier to “form a unifying government in the service of the country”, the Elysée Palace declared in a press release on Thursday.

Le Président de la République a nommé Monsieur Michel BARNIER Premier ministre. Il l’a chargé de constituer un gouvernement de rassemblement au service du pays et des Français. pic.twitter.com/beWhuEh42L

— Élysée (@Elysee) September 5, 2024

“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 chance to unite as broadly as possible” , added the presidency.

1:28 p.m.

Oldest Prime Minister succeeds youngest

With the appointment of Michel Barnier, the oldest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic succeeds Gabriel Attal, 35, who was the youngest, at Matignon. He will have to try to form a government that can survive a parliamentary censure, to end the most serious political crisis of the Fifth Republic.

1:25 p.m.

Will the RN censure ?

The National Rally (RN) will wait for the general policy statement of Michel Barnier, now designated for Matignon, before deciding on a possible censure of his government.

“We will wait for the general policy statement, while being attentive to respecting the RN voters” , declared the leadership of Marine Le Pen's party on Thursday. Pen.

1:24 p.m.

Who is Michel Barnier ?

Aged 73 and an old hand in French and European politics, Michel Barnier, whose name began to circulate at the beginning of the summer, was a minister for the first time in 1993 , then three times under the presidencies of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy . He was also twice European Commissioner, and finally between 2016 and 2021 negotiator of Great Britain's exit from the EU , Brexit.

Michel Barnier in Nîmes in 2021. Mikaël Anisset/Midi Libre

He briefly reappeared in 2021 in French political life by running in the primary of his party, Les Républicains (LR) , for the 2022 presidential election. His program included a “moratorium” on immigration.

1:17 p.m.

A meeting at the Elysée Palace

The former minister and former right-wing European commissioner Michel Barnier, now the favorite for Matignon, left the Elysée Palace on Thursday shortly after 1 p.m. after a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, journalists noted from AFP.

The probable future Prime Minister was accompanied to the vestibule by the Head of State, who greeted him with a handshake, before Michel Barnier got into his car.

1:17 p.m.

Michel Barnier ultra favorite

The hypothesis of an announcement of Michel Barnier's nomination began to circulate on Wednesday evening. An executive advisor detailed to AFP the many qualities of the former candidate for the 2021 LR primary: he is “Macron-compatible”, he allows LR to participate in a government coalition, he would not be censored immediately and will not be a candidate in 2027, according to him.