| At long last, President Emmanuel Macron has picked former EU Brexit negotiator and French presidential candidate Michel Barnier to become France’s prime minister on Thursday (5 September). “The President of the Republic has appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. He has tasked him with forming a united government to serve the country and the French people,” an Elysée press release reads. The announcement brings to a close a political saga that saw several names floated for the top job, strategically leaked by the Elysée to test popular reactions. It will now be down to Barnier to put together a government capable of two difficult tasks: surviving a vote of no confidence and laying down a set of policy priorities that pleases parties from both sides of the aisle. | 