For the past seven years, President Emmanuel Macron has commanded nearly the entire French public’s attention and has had free reign to shape the country’s foreign and domestic policies.
Macron’s appointment on Thursday of Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old traditional conservative, as prime minister marks the beginning of a new era for a president who once famously said he wanted to rule like Jupiter, the Roman god of sky and thunder.
Under new power-sharing arrangements that the Elysee Palace is calling for an era “of coexistence”, Mr Macron is likely to have a reduced presence both at home and abroad.
“We will never have the same president,” said Anne-Charlene Vézina, a public law expert.
“It is the prime minister’s responsibility to take matters into his own hands to forge alliances or coalition governments. It is he who is caught in the crossfire of the Diet.”
Barnier’s appointment could mark a turning point after two months of political turmoil that followed general elections called by President Macron that left no party with even a close majority in the lower house of the National Assembly.
Mr Barnier, a former foreign minister and Brexit negotiator, was quick to signal his intention to act on his own initiative.
“The president chairs the meeting and the government governs,” Barnier, the longest-serving prime minister in modern French history, said Friday night.
Macron is expected to become a “guarantor” of French institutions and will no longer dictate government policy.
Macron has been known for his top-down leadership style since coming to power in 2017, but observers say he may have to learn humility.
The Élysée Palace and Matignon, the French prime minister’s official residence, will no longer share advisers, as has been the case for the past seven years, and Macron’s advisers will no longer attend inter-ministerial meetings.
Barnier will be in charge of the budget, security, immigration and health and will have to consider the interests of the far-right Rally National, the largest party in a divided parliament, to avoid a vote of no confidence.
Mr Barnier, a right-wing republican with no ties to the president’s centrist bloc, promised “change”.
“We’re going to do a lot more than just talk,” he said.
But there is some skepticism about whether Macron can back down at home.
“Emmanuel Macron can’t sit back and watch. He can’t stay on the sidelines,” said a former presidential adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The slightest movement will bring him back.”
Political scientist Vincent Martiny said he would be surprised if Macron “de-intervened.”
“Politicians don’t change, especially Macron,” Martiny said. “They have their own style and their own personalities.”
Macron’s 99-seat parliamentary group, the Ensemble for the Republic, has denied giving “unconditional” backing to Barnier but is seen as the government’s main bulwark in the lower house.
Several outgoing ministers could also be reappointed, with influential Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin saying he wants to stay and would even consider a promotion to the foreign ministry.
Vézina said it was “incredible” that Barnier, from a centre-right background, would become “the fierce opponent of someone with whom he is relatively compatible”.
The changing political climate also offers Macron, long criticized as arrogant and out of touch with reality, an opportunity to reconnect with the French people.
“In the coming weeks he will want to be in direct contact with France,” said the outgoing minister, who asked not to be named.
Mr Barnier’s predecessor, Gabriel Attal, 35, was France’s youngest ever prime minister, inevitably drawing comparisons with Mr Macron, who, at 39, became France’s youngest ever president.
“He’s a bit like my little brother,” Macron joked in June.
Observers say Macron’s relationship with Barnier, whose career spans half a century, will be very different.
“He’s a proud man,” the former minister said of Barnier. “Will he be a puppet? I don’t think so.”
Guillaume Crossa, president of the think tank Europanova, expressed a similar opinion.
“He’s never been anybody’s vassal,” he said.
Barnier said he was open to nominating people from all political walks of life, including those on the “left.”
“The prime minister will want to choose the ministers he believes are best for the country,” Crossa said.
Political analysts warn that France’s political crisis may not be over yet.
Risk analysis firm Eurasia Group said Barnier was likely to have minority support in parliament and that far-right leader Marine Le Pen would be key to his success.
The paper said Le Pen could topple the Barnier government “at any time” and that “Le Pen’s position could change at any time.”
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