French Prime Minister Michel Barnier urged his freshly-appointed cabinet Monday to avoid “bluster” and “show respect for all our fellow citizens” as it gets to work, an official in his office said.
A long wait for the new French government 11 weeks after a snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron ended Saturday when the new team was announced. It marks a clear shift to the right.
At a breakfast gathering Monday ahead of the cabinet’s first formal meeting Barnier asked his team to be “beyond reproach and modest” as they take up their portfolios, the official told AFP.
Barnier’s government draws on parliamentary support mostly from Macron’s allies as well some conservative Republicans and centrist groups.
The leftist opposition has already said they will bring a no-confidence motion in parliament at an early opportunity, while the far right has also blasted the cabinet lineup.
Faced with this challenge, Barnier urged his ministers to “show respect for all our fellow citizens and all political parties and listen to everybody”.
The 39 ministers should “act first and communicate second”, he said. “No bluster, please.”
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Already Sunday evening, Barnier had called for “the greatest possible cohesion” within the government, and for a willingness to find “compromise”.
Opponents have criticized the new cabinet’s conservative imprint, with Socialist Party chairman Olivier Faure calling it the “most right-wing government of the Fifth Republic”.
Faure said the Socialists were planning to bring a no-confidence vote on October 1 after Barnier’s general policy speech to parliament scheduled for that day.
But he acknowledged that “it will probably fail” in the absence of support from the National Rally, which has said it will wait before making any move against the government.
Barnier on Monday countered that his lineup was “republican, progressive and pro-European”.
Macron is to preside over the new cabinet’s first official meeting at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Monday.
