Michel Barnier in discussion as France's Prime Minister

Michel Barnier, the former EU Brexit negotiator, is considered one of the leading candidates for the position of French Prime Minister. President Emmanuel Macron faces the challenge of forming a new government to overcome a political deadlock that arose after the election. Barnier, 73, a long-standing member of the French conservative party Les Républicains (LR), is one of the key figures with whom Macron has made contact to find support in the fragmented lower house of parliament and to nominate a cabinet that does not reverse his reforms. Pressure on Macron to name a Prime Minister has increased two months after an early election led to a loss of seats for his centrist bloc, while neither right nor left forces achieved an absolute majority. Several candidates from the civil service and from parties of the left and right political spectrum have emerged in recent weeks but were outstripped by rival political movements. The upcoming budget negotiations for the year 2025 in parliament, which are particularly urgent given France's strained public finances, heighten the necessity to break the deadlock. Barnier, a veteran of LR, did not comment on the speculation about his nomination or on direct talks with the Élysée Palace. Nonetheless, he was mentioned on Thursday as a seemingly more viable candidate than Xavier Bertrand, a regional president of LR, who nearly received the post on Wednesday. Marine Le Pen's far-right party, the National Rally (RN), having a substantial share of seats in the French parliament, has taken on a significant role in the nomination process and ultimately nullified the option of Bertrand, a long-time opponent of RN in their northern stronghold. “There would be real logic in choosing Xavier Bertrand or, if not, Michel Barnier,” said senior LR politician Jean-François Copé on Thursday on RTL radio, arguing that although a left-wing alliance had won the most seats in parliament, right-wing parties had achieved a higher share of the vote. A nomination for Barnier would mark a notable turning point for the former EU negotiator in the Brexit talks with the UK, who lost to his rival Valérie Pécresse in the French presidential election of 2022. She was eliminated in the first round with less than 5% of the vote, while Macron was re-elected after a victory over Le Pen in the second round. During that campaign, Barnier took a hard line on migration policy, proposing a three-to-five-year moratorium on non-EU immigration to France, which surprised some of his colleagues in Brussels but might make him more accessible to RN. On Thursday, RN officials had harsh words for Barnier but did not immediately rule out his appointment. RN Deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy said Barnier represented a "petrified" old world and accused the Élysée Palace of “taking the Jurassic Park route” by bringing back figures from the past. Another significant RN representative, Sébastien Chenu, avoided questions about whether RN would immediately try to topple a Barnier government. "The French did not go to the parliamentary election hoping that Barnier would emerge as Prime Minister," Chenu told BFM TV. However, he added that the party would “wait and see” while assessing Barnier’s stance on electoral reform and the introduction of a proportional element in future elections, a demand of RN.