Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron was on Friday weighing a new government proposed by Prime Minister Michel Barnier which includes new faces in almost all key posts and marks a fresh shift to the right.
\nThe full cabinet line-up was due to be announced later Friday or by Sunday at the latest, multiple sources told AFP, ending two-and-a-half months of deadlock created by inconclusive legislative elections that wrapped up in July.
\nWhile there appeared to be no major surprises or big name entrants into the cabinet, there are set to be new foreign, economy and interior ministers, with only the defense minister remaining unchanged among the key offices of state.
\nBarnier is proposing Europe Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as foreign minister, a source close to Macron\u2019s political faction, asking not to be named, told AFP.
\nThe move would be a major promotion for the 41-year-old, whose slick media appearances have impressed observers, but he would face the challenge of boosting France\u2019s presence on the international stage.
\nMeanwhile Bruno Retailleau, who heads the faction of the right-wing The Republicans (LR) in France\u2019s upper house Senate, is to take on the interior ministry, according to several sources who spoke to AFP.
\nLanding the interior ministry, which oversees the police and domestic security, would be seen as a major success for the right.
\nAnd another meteoric rise will see Antoine Armand, 33, the head of parliament\u2019s economic affairs commission installed as economy minister.
\nOne key person said to be staying on is Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu who is believed to enjoy a close and trusting relationship with Macron.
\nBarnier was at the Elysee Palace late Thursday to discuss the nominations with Macron.
\nThe list is a government \u201cready to act in the service of the French people,\u201d the premier\u2019s office said. It later said the new government would be unveiled \u201cbefore Sunday.\u201d
\nMacron could seek to veto Barnier\u2019s proposals but doing so would cause immense tensions with his premier at this stage.
\nSources added that names still need to be vetted to ensure they have no conflicts of interest before entering government, as is customary.
\nBut Macron \u201cwill not censor any name,\u201d said a source close to him asking not to be named.
\nThere had been tensions earlier this week between centrist Macron and Barnier, who comes from the LR, over the balance of the government notably at a lunch earlier this week that reports said was far from cordial.
\nLe Monde daily said that Barnier had even raised the possibility of resigning just days into the job. But the tensions were then resolved on Thursday.
\nPolitics in France has been deadlocked since the June-July snap legislative elections left it with a hung parliament.
\nBarnier, the European Union\u2019s former top Brexit negotiator and a right-winger, was appointed earlier this month by Macron in an attempt to breach the impasse.
\nKey posts were vacant with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stepping down after occupying his post since Macron came to power in 2017 and Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne tapped by Macron to be France\u2019s new EU commissioner.
\nHowever there seems to be no place in the cabinet for the ambitious Gerald Darmanin, interior minister since 2020 and who had reportedly long coveted the job of foreign minister.
\nThe 73-year-old Barnier minister has faced a raft of challenges since taking office.
\nThe prime minister had warned on Wednesday that France\u2019s budgetary situation was \u201cvery serious.\u201d
\nFrance was placed on a formal procedure for violating EU budgetary rules before Barnier was picked as head of government.
\nMacron had hoped to reassert his relative majority in parliament by calling for the elections in late June and early July, but the plan backfired.
\nA left-wing alliance nabbed the most seats in the lower house National Assembly, but does not have a working majority.
\nMacron\u2019s centrist faction is now the second largest bloc.
\nThe far right is third, but the anti-immigration National Rally emerged from the election as the single largest party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron was on Friday weighing a new government proposed by Prime Minister Michel Barnier which includes new faces in almost all key posts and marks a fresh shift to the right. The full cabinet line-up was due to be announced later Friday or by Sunday at the latest, multiple sources told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-432300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n