France’s new PM Michel Barnier to form party-inclusive govt
Paris: France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier has said that his future government would not just be a right-wing only government.
Interviewed by the French public television TF1, Barnier said on Friday evening that his government could include people from his political family, Les Republicains (The Republicans), members of the previous government, and even members of left-wing parties.
Repeatedly saying that sectarianism is a sign of weakness since he took office on Thursday, the Prime Minister told TF1 that he would not forbid himself from “bringing together, around the same table, men and women who are competent”.
Given that the French far-right wing party National Rally (RN) is the individual party with the most seats in the National Assembly, Barnier said he would take proportionality into account when forming a government, if necessary, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
“But I need to discuss with all the political groups,” he added.
During the interview with TF1, Barnier noted that he would commit to controlling “migratory flows with concrete measures”.
“There are proposals everywhere. No one has a monopoly on good ideas. We need to find solutions. The priority is to control immigration in a rigorous and humanist way,” he said.
He noted that he would also focus on budget and economic growth, and “improve” the retirement reform.
French President Emmanuel Macron nominated on Thursday former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister.
Speaking at a handover ceremony on Thursday evening, Barnier said that as the new Prime Minister, he intends to address “the challenges, the anger, the suffering, and the sense of abandonment and injustice” that the country is currently experiencing.
Barnier’s first urgent mission is to form a government capable of completing a draft budget for 2025 before October 1 and submit it for voting in the National Assembly.
Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old former Foreign Minister who recently acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, is the oldest premier in the history of modern France.