(Paris) France should have a government “before Sunday”, Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced on Thursday evening after submitting a list of 38 ministers to President Emmanuel Macron.
Coming from the right, the former European Commissioner, appointed on September 5 by Mr. Macron, has given a boost to the formation of his team and to the efforts to resolve the long political crisis created by the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9.
The new prime minister spoke for fifty minutes on Thursday evening at the Élysée Palace with the French head of state to propose his government, an AFP journalist noted.
“Thank you very much, see you tomorrow,” Emmanuel Macron told Mr Barnier after their meeting.
“The Prime Minister presented the architecture and composition of his government, which respects the balances. It will be presented before Sunday, in light of the usual ethical checks,” wrote his services, describing the exchange with the President as “constructive.”
Earlier, Mr Barnier had presented his proposals on Thursday afternoon to the political forces of the right and centre likely to participate in his future government. But he did not disclose any names at the time.
The leader of the Republicans (traditional right) deputies, Laurent Wauquiez, took the lead by announcing himself in front of his troops that he had refused the Finance portfolio. On the other hand, his counterpart in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, should be proposed for the Ministry of the Interior, according to sources from the party and the former majority.
On the “Macronists” side, the resigned MoDem (centre) Minister for European Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot will be proposed for Foreign Affairs, while the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu should be reappointed, according to a leader of the central bloc.
Government of 38 ministers
In search of a difficult governmental balance, Mr. Barnier said he envisaged a government of 38 ministers, including seven members of Mr. Macron’s party, three from the right (Les Républicains), two centrists (MoDem), one Horizons or one UDI (centre-right parties), reported the leader of the “Macronist” deputies, Gabriel Attal, to the elected members of his group.
While he is struggling to find left-wing personalities, from whom he has been refused several times, only one “miscellaneous left” would appear among these full ministers.
Michel Barnier provided clarifications on Thursday on the issues that had fueled tensions with his partners. The head of government affirmed that he would not increase taxes for the middle classes, according to several participants.
This commitment on taxation is “vital for us,” declared Gabriel Attal. Macronist deputies had threatened not to participate in a government planning tax increases despite the slippage of debt and deficits and the delicate preparation of the 2025 budget.
On immigration, another delicate issue, the Prime Minister wanted to implement the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, according to a participant.
Improving public services
According to a press release from his services, Michel Barnier stated that he intended to “improve the standard of living of the French and the functioning of public services, particularly schools and health, guarantee security, control immigration and advance integration.”
He also wants to “encourage [les] companies and [les] farmers and strengthen the economic attractiveness of France, control [les] public finances and reduce ecological debt”.
Emmanuel Macron, who claims not to want to intervene in the composition of the government, had already received Michel Barnier on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. According to the stories that are leaking out, their lunch on Tuesday went badly.
The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that he had discovered a “very serious budgetary situation”. France, along with several other member countries of the European Union, is the subject of a European procedure for excessive deficits.
Time is running out on the budget, whose timetable has been delayed by the dissolution of the National Assembly – the lower house of parliament – in June and the very late appointment of a new prime minister.
The draft “finance law” for 2025 is supposed to be presented to Parliament at the beginning of October, “then the national medium-term budget plan that the government must transmit to the (European) Commission a few days later”, recalled the first president of the French Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, on Wednesday.