New French PM vows to toughen stance on immigration, hints at tilt to right
Al Jazeera
Conservative Michel Barnier promises to uphold some of Macron’s policies while tackling a divided parliament.
New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier says he will defend some of President Emmanuel Macron’s policies and toughen the government’s stance on immigration.
In his first interview since his nomination, Barnier said on Friday that his government, which lacks a clear majority in a hung lower house of parliament, will include conservatives as well as members of Macron’s camp.
Members from other groups, including the left, are also welcome to back the new government, he said. “There is no red line,” Barnier said, adding: “We need to open the door … to all those who want it.”
Macron named 73-year-old Barnier, a conservative and the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister on Thursday, capping a two-month-long search after his ill-fated decision to call legislative elections that delivered an unruly hung parliament.
Barnier faces the daunting task of trying to drive reforms and the 2025 budget through that parliament as France is under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.
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