France New government in Paris faces major challenges

Less than three months after the victory of the left in France, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed a centre-right government, outraging the left-wing camp. The Élysée Palace announced the names of the more than 30 ministers and secretaries of state on Saturday evening. The left-wing camp, which won the early parliamentary elections with a relative majority, will only have one minister. Instead, several members of the conservative Republicans are now part of the new government alongside Macron's allies.

All key positions will be reassigned, with only Sébastien Lecornu retaining his post as defense minister. Jean-Noël Barrot will become Foreign Minister and Bruno Retailleau Interior Minister. Antoine Armand will be responsible for the economy and finance. Prime Minister Michel Barnier called for work to begin in the evening, with the first Council of Ministers due to take place on Monday.

Left-wing alliance sidelined despite election victory

However, this does not necessarily mean that the situation will stabilize. The center-right government formed by Barnier has been under considerable pressure from the outset. Left-wing and Green politicians spoke of a denial of democracy and emphasized that the voters had been cheated of the election result. Several thousand people protested throughout the country before the cabinet members were appointed.

In the parliamentary elections, the left-wing alliance finished ahead of President Macron's centrist forces and the right-wing nationalists led by Marine Le Pen. None of the camps received an absolute majority and neither party was able to form a governing majority with partners. Macron ruled out a government of the left-wing alliance in July, citing the stability of the country as the reason, because such a government would be toppled directly by a vote of no confidence.

Vote of no confidence looms

However, the new government could also face such a fate. It has not been possible to recruit top politicians known outside France for ministerial posts. This could also be due to the fact that it is uncertain whether the government will remain in office for any length of time at all and will not be toppled immediately. There could soon be a vote of no confidence from both the left and the extreme right. Socialist leader Olivier Faure has already announced such a vote, but does not necessarily believe it will be successful.

The founder of the Left Party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, called for the Barnier government to be "got rid of as quickly as possible". Jordan Bardella from the right-wing nationalist Rassemblement National (RN) spoke of a government that has no future. Prime Minister Barnier's first government statement on October 1 is now eagerly awaited.

The conservative Barnier was appointed by Macron two weeks ago after much hesitation. The hope was that the former chief Brexit negotiator for the EU would be able to use his negotiating skills and talent for compromise to find enough partners for an effective government. On Thursday evening, Barnier then presented Macron with his personnel tableau. Due to "final adjustments", as the government put it, the presentation of the cabinet was then postponed from Friday to Saturday. According to BFMTV, this was the longest government formation process since 1962.

The future government will definitely not have an absolute majority that can simply implement President Macron's political plans. Depending on the government's plans, Barnier may have to rely on the support of different partners and also on the tolerance of Marine le Pen's RN. Head of state Macron, who wanted to strengthen his position with the new elections, will be weakened as a result. However, as he has the upper hand in foreign policy and a pro-European prime minister at his side in Barnier, cooperation with Brussels and Berlin is unlikely to change much.

Mountain of debt weighs on the start of the new government

In terms of domestic policy, however, the new government faces an immediate test with the budget for the coming year. The EU Commission is currently pursuing deficit proceedings against France due to excessive new debt. With its traditionally high level of public spending, there is actually no way around drastic austerity measures in France, and the issue of possible tax increases had already sparked a dispute between Barnier and the Macron camp before the government was appointed.