Michel Barnier named Prime Minister by French Presidency

Follow-up - INA

The French presidency announced, today, Thursday, the appointment of Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister, about two months after the early legislative elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier with forming the next French government, nearly two months after the legislative elections.

Barnier, 73, is the oldest prime minister in modern French history to have been tasked with forming "an inclusive government at the service of the country," the presidency added.

Macron has refused to form a government with the New Popular Front and the left-wing alliance that led the early legislative elections, and this refusal has prevented the appointment of his candidate for prime minister, civil servant Lucie Castet.