Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts

PARIS: French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's hard-won new government faced pressure from day one on Sunday (Sep 22) as threats of a no-confidence motion in parliament multiplied.

The long wait for a functioning government after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap general election ended after 11 weeks late on Saturday with his appointment of a cabinet marking a clear shift to the right.

Opposition politicians from the left have already said they will challenge Barnier's government with a no-confidence motion, with far-right politicians also slamming its composition.

In the July election, a left-wing alliance called the New Popular Front (NFP) won the most parliamentary seats of any political bloc, but not enough for an overall majority.

Veteran far-right leader Marine Le Pen meanwhile saw her National Rally emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly.

Macron had argued that the left was unable to muster enough support to form a government that would not immediately be brought down in parliament and rejected a National Rally candidate over the party's extremist legacy.

He turned instead to Barnier to lead a government drawing mostly on parliamentary support from Macron's allies, as well as from the conservative Republicans (LR) and centrist groups.

"NO FUTURE"

Talks on the distribution of the 39 cabinet posts continued right up to Saturday's official announcement, insiders said, with moments of sharp tension between the president and his prime minister.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has called the new lineup "a government of the general election losers".

France, he said, should "get rid" of the government "as soon as possible".

Even before the announcement, thousands of people took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday in a left-wing protest to denounce what they called a denial of July's election results.

Socialist Party chairman Oliver Faure dismissed Barnier's cabinet as "a reactionary government that gives democracy the finger".

Macron had been counting on a neutral stance from the far right, but National Rally leader Jordan Bardella was quick to condemn the composition of the new government, which he said had "no future whatsoever".

While Macron's party Renaissance had to relinquish some key positions, it still got most of the minister jobs – 12 out of 39.

"This is not a new government, it's a reshuffle," quipped Communist party leader Fabien Roussel.

"SAME AS BEFORE"

Former French president Francois Hollande, a Socialist, called the cabinet "the same as before, but with an even stronger presence of the right" and one that would inflict "painful measures on our fellow citizens".

He said a no-confidence motion was "a good solution".

To pass, a no-confidence motion needs an absolute majority in parliament, which would then force the government to step down immediately – currently an unlikely scenario as the far right and the leftist bloc, sworn enemies, would have to vote in unison.

The first major task for Barnier, best known internationally for leading the European Union's Brexit negotiations with Britain, will be to submit a 2025 budget plan addressing France's financial situation, which he this week called "very serious".

France has been placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules.

The difficult job of submitting a budget plan to parliament next month falls to 33-year-old Antoine Armand, the new finance minister.

Armand told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that "exceptional and targeted" tax increases, as well as cuts in public spending, could not be ruled out.

Among the other new faces in key cabinet posts are Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, while Bruno Retailleau of the Republicans takes over at the interior ministry. His portfolio covers immigration and his right-wing credentials have created unease even in Macron's own camp.

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a close Macron ally, has kept his job.

The only left-of-centre politician is Didier Migaud, a little-known former Socialist named justice minister.

Barnier, who is to address parliament with a key policy speech on Oct 1, was scheduled to make a TV appearance later Sunday.