France's far-right National Rally (RN) is exerting outsize power over President Emmanuel Macron and his new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, rivals said on Friday, a day after the veteran politician got the job with tacit support from the RN.
Macron named former 73-year-old Barnier, a conservative and a former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister on Thursday, capping a two-months-long search following his ill-fated decision to call a legislative election that delivered an unruly hung parliament.
France's next prime minister faces the daunting task of trying to drive reforms and the 2025 budget through a hung parliament, as France is under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.
The RN gave tentative support to Barnier's nomination by saying it would not immediately try to vote it down, but made clear it could withdraw support at any point if its concerns on immigration, security and pocketbook issues were not met.
Marine Le Pen's party had vetoed other possible prime ministers Macron had considered over the past weeks.
"Today, we have a prime minister who is completely dependent on the RN," said Lucie Castets, the prime ministerial pick of the leftist alliance that came top in the July vote, but who was overlooked by Macron after it failed to secure an absolute majority.
"In so doing, the president has put himself in cohabitation with the RN," she said, referring to the term used in France when the president governs with a prime minister from a rival party. The left is organizing protests across the country on Saturday.
After hoping to win the snap election following a strong showing in the first round, the RN came third when voters and other parties, especially to the left, rallied to keep it out of power in the run-off round.
But appointing Barnier after the RN signaled it would not block him is making the government's dependent on the RN's goodwill, said Sacha Houlie, an MP who used to belong to Macron's camp.
"It's now the far right that makes the kings or queens," Socialist Party chief Olivier Faure said on France Inter radio.
Neither Barnier, who has started meetings with parties on the right and center to pull together a government, nor Macron have made any comment on this or responded to criticism from the opposition.
'At Le Pen's mercy'?
Similar criticism were also made by some abroad.
"Barnier must not become prime minister at Le Pen's mercy," said Anton Hofreiter, chair of the German parliament's Committee on European Union Affairs and a member of the Greens.
"I don't expect any progressive ideas from the new prime minister. I can only hope that Barnier will draw on his many years of European experience and strengthen common European policies."
Much attention will now focus on who Barnier seeks to name to his cabinet. Some ministers from the outgoing government may continue but Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who did not seek re-election as an MP, was unlikely to be among them, two sources told Reuters, saying Le Maire wanted to move on.
"Barnier's choice for the finance ministry will therefore be crucial to reassure Brussels and financial markets that France can emerge safely from a dangerously intertwined political and fiscal crisis over the next three months," Eurasia analysts said.
Government sources said Macron would like Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu to stay on in the new Cabinet.
Meanwhile, RN lawmaker Laurent Jacobelli sought to play down the far right's power over the new government.
"We are in the opposition, clearly ... We are not giving anyone the green light," he said on France 2. "We will not be the political force that leads France into the wall by systematically opposing everything and creating chaos."
The RN, whose priority is the 2027 presidential election and consequently wants to be seen by voters as responsible, also seemed to consider it had no interest in prolonging the past weeks' political uncertainty, Eurasia said.
That same line of thinking could also prompt them to hesitate before bringing Barnier's government down.
Eurointelligence analysts, noting that Barnier, a moderate, career politician, considerably toughened his discourse on immigration during his failed 2021 bid to get his party's ticket for the presidential election, said: "The left parties will have to digest their defeat, while the RN could extract more dividends."
