[News Figures] 'Brexit Negotiator' France's New Prime Minister 'Michel Barnier'

Conservative Right-Wing Gaullist 'Oldest Prime Minister'
France's Joe Biden Who Served as MP and Minister
Foresees Immigration Control in Inaugural Speech

Michel Barnier (73) was appointed as the new Prime Minister of France on the 5th (local time). He was appointed 51 days after former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (34) resigned on July 16. While Attal was the youngest prime minister since the establishment of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, Barnier is the oldest prime minister.

Prime Minister Barnier is a veteran politician belonging to the conservative right-wing Gaullist party, The Republicans, having served as a member of both the National Assembly and the Senate as well as holding ministerial positions. With 51 years of political experience, he is also called the "Joe Biden of France," drawing a comparison to U.S. President Joe Biden, who also has a long political career.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier [Photo by Yonhap News]

Michel Barnier was born in 1951 as the youngest of three brothers in a family of leather and textile artisans in Haute-Savoie, a region in the southeastern French Alps. After graduating from ESCP Business School, a prestigious French grande ?cole of management, in 1972, he entered politics in 1973 at the age of 22 as a regional councilor in Savoie. At 27, in 1978, he was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly, and in 1982, at 31, he was elected as the youngest president of the Savoie General Council. During this time, he also contributed to the successful bid for the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

Barnier served as a member of the National Assembly for 15 years before joining President Fran?ois Mitterrand's government as Minister of the Environment in 1993. After Jacques Chirac was elected president in 1995, Barnier served as Minister for European Affairs, became a French senator in 1997, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2004 during Chirac's presidency. Under President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, he rejoined the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.

His role as a negotiator in the EU was particularly notable. From October 2016 to November 2019, he was the EU's chief negotiator for the United Kingdom's withdrawal under Article 50 of the EU Treaty, leading the "Task Force 50 (TF 50)." Subsequently, from 2019 to 2021, he led the EU Commission's "Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF)," overseeing the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that addressed post-Brexit issues. He received considerable praise within the EU for successfully leading the challenging negotiations over nearly five years.

Michelle Barnier, the new Prime Minister of France, is delivering her inaugural speech at the Prime Minister's Office on the 5th (local time), with former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal watching.
Photo by Yonhap News

In August 2021, Barnier declared his candidacy for the French presidential election the following year. However, he was cut off in third place during the first round of the Republican primary. After losing the election, he withdrew from frontline politics for three years. Meanwhile, in the July French parliamentary elections, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition failed to secure a majority, leading to Prime Minister Attal's resignation. President Macron appointed Barnier as his successor, marking the fourth cohabitation government in the history of the French Fifth Republic.

In his inaugural speech, Prime Minister Barnier identified "changes to immigration policy" as a priority. He stated, "In a few days, we will discuss the main legislative priorities, which will include immigration control and everyday security." Local media interpreted this as a move to "strengthen restrictions on immigrant acceptance." During the 2021 Republican presidential primary, Barnier advocated for a suspension of immigration to France for three to five years.

He also called for a review of the Schengen Agreement, which guarantees free movement among EU member states. However, it remains uncertain whether Barnier can secure the political momentum to govern effectively. The far-left coalition New People's Front (NFP), the largest force in the parliament, has declared its intention to exercise a vote of no confidence. The far-right party National Rally (RN), the third largest force, is also not supportive.