BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – MARCH 05: European Union Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier speaks during a conference after the first round of UK-EU negotiations in Brussels, Belgium on March 05, 2020.
Anadolu Agency
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister in a bid to end a political stalemate that has mired the nation since early July.
Macron charged Barnier with forming a government on Thursday, according to an announcement shared by the Elysee Palace.
The 73-year-old conservative must now face a no-confidence vote in the lower house of parliament before assuming governance.
The announcement hopes to end a weeks-long political standoff and resolve a hung parliament that emerged after the surprise victory of the five-party left-wing New Popular Front coalition in the run-off vote of July 7. Macron’s centrist “Together” bloc came in second in the election, with the far-right Rassemblement National coming in third.
None of the factions achieved the 289 seats needed to clinch an absolute majority, plunging France into the stewardship of a caretaker government during the highly-mediatized summer stretch when the nation hosted the heavily attended Olympics Games.
Macron accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on July 16, following the electoral results.
Barnier is no stranger to domestic French leadership and has previously served in four cabinet positions, including as minister of the environment, minister of state for European Affairs, minister of foreign affairs and minister of agriculture and fisheries.
This breaking news story is being updated.
— CNBC’s Charlotte Reed contributed to this report.
