“NO FUTURE”
Macron was counting too, on a neutral stance from the far right – but the leader of the National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella was quick to condemn the composition of the new government.
It marked “a return to Macronism” and so had “no future whatsoever”, he said Saturday.
At the other end of the political spectrum, far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon called the new lineup “a government of the general election losers”.
France, he said, should “get rid” of the government “as soon as possible”, while his party threatened to “increase popular pressure” on the government.
Socialist party chairman Oliver Faure dismissed Barnier’s cabinet as “a reactionary government that gives democracy the finger”.
Among the new faces in key cabinet posts are Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, a centrist, while conservative Bruno Retailleau 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 difficult job of submitting a budget plan to parliament next month falls to 33-year-old Antoine Armand, the new finance minister. He has previously served as head of parliament’s Economic Affairs Commission.
The only left-of-centre politician is a little-known former Socialist Didier Migaud who was named justice minister.
