Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts

RFI

21 September 2024 at 3:10 pm·1-min read

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's hard-won new government faced pressure from day one Sunday 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 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 centrists groups.

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

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

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