Michel Barnier

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Michel Barnier
File:Barnier Portrait.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Prime Minister of France
In office
5 September 2024 – 13 December 2024
President Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by Gabriel Attal
Succeeded by François Bayrou
EU political offices
Head of the UK Task Force
In office
16 November 2019 – 31 March 2021
President Jean-Claude Juncker
Ursula von der Leyen
Deputy Clara Martínez Alberola
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by João Vale de Almeida (as Ambassador to the United Kingdom)
Chief Negotiator of Task Force 50
In office
1 October 2016 – 15 November 2019
President Jean-Claude Juncker
Deputy Sabine Weyand
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Position abolished
European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
In office
10 February 2010 – 31 October 2014
President José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by Charlie McCreevy
Succeeded by Elżbieta Bieńkowska
European Commissioner for Regional Policy
In office
16 September 1999 – 31 March 2004
President Romano Prodi
Preceded by Monika Wulf-Mathies
Succeeded by Jacques Barrot
Member of the European Parliament
for Île-de-France
In office
14 July 2009 – 10 February 2010
Succeeded by Constance Le Grip
French political offices
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
In office
19 June 2007 – 22 June 2009
Prime Minister François Fillon
Preceded by Christine Lagarde
Succeeded by Bruno Le Maire
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
31 March 2004 – 31 May 2005
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded by Dominique de Villepin
Succeeded by Philippe Douste-Blazy
Minister Delegate for European Affairs
In office
18 May 1995 – 3 June 1997
Prime Minister Alain Juppé
Preceded by Alain Lamassoure
Succeeded by Pierre Moscovici
Minister of the Environment
In office
29 March 1993 – 18 March 1995
Prime Minister Édouard Balladur
Preceded by Ségolène Royal
Succeeded by Corinne Lepage
Senator for Savoie
In office
22 September 1997 – 23 September 1999
In office
2 October 1995 – 31 October 1995
Member of the National Assembly
for Savoie
In office
3 April 1978 – 1 May 1993
Preceded by Maurice Blanc
Succeeded by Hervé Gaymard
Constituency 2nd (1978–1986)
At-large (1986–1988)
2nd (1988–1993)
President of the General Council of Savoie
In office
14 March 1982 – 13 September 1999
Preceded by Louis Besson
Succeeded by Hervé Gaymard
General councillor of Savoie
for the canton of Bourg-Saint-Maurice
In office
5 September 1973 – 13 September 1999
Preceded by Alexis Borrel
Succeeded by Jacqueline Poletti
Personal details
Born Michel Jean Barnier
(1951-01-09) 9 January 1951 (age 74)
La Tronche, France
Political party LR (2015–present)
Other political
affiliations		 UDR (1967–1976)
RPR (1976–2002)
UMP (2002–2015)
Spouse(s) Isabelle Altmayer (m. 1982)
Children 3
Residence Hôtel Matignon, Paris
Alma mater ESCP Business School
Occupation
Signature Michel Barnier's signature

Michel Jean Barnier (fr; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024. A member of a series of Gaullist parties (UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet positions under the governments from Édouard Balladur to François Fillon from 1993 to 2009. At the European Union (EU) level, Barnier was European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2010 to 2014 and vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) from 2010 to 2015. From October 2016 to 2021, he was the EU's chief negotiator on Britain's exit from the European Union.

In August 2021, Barnier sought his party's nomination for President of France in the 2022 presidential election, but obtained third place at the 2021 The Republicans congress. In September 2024 President Emmanuel Macron appointed him to the premiership following the 2024 snap legislative election.

At the age of 73, Barnier is the oldest person to take office as prime minister under the Fifth Republic. On 4 December 2024, three months into his tenure, his government was brought down by a vote of no confidence in Parliament.[1] The following day, Barnier and his government resigned on the understanding that the resignation would not take effect until a new government was formed.

Barnier is a pro-European, Gaullist conservative. He has advocated for stricter controls on extra-European immigration, expanding prison capacity and the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes.

Early life and education

Michel Jean Barnier was born at La Tronche in the French Alps, into a Gaullist family in 1951. His father, Jean Barnier,[2] was a leather and textiles craftsman.[3] His mother, Denise Durand, was a practising member of the Christian left, who founded a local chapter of the Ligue contre la violence routière (fr) (League against road violence). Barnier is the youngest of the couple's three sons.[4]

In his youth, Barnier was a scout and choirboy.[3] He graduated from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) in 1972.[5] During his studies at the ESCP, he was a classmate of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, future prime minister, and a member of the Conférence Olivaint, a student organisation intended to prepare members for political life.[6][7]

Political career

National politics

Barnier served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers in the 1970s, before being elected in 1978, aged 27, to the National Assembly as deputy for the department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic (RPR), serving until 1993.[8][9] In the 1980s, he voted for the abolition of capital punishment and against reducing the age of consent for same-sex relationships to that of mixed-sex couples.

Barnier became the youngest president of the departmental council of Savoie in 1982, following a deal called the Union for Savoie (fr) between right-wing and centrist parties in the council.[10] In 1992, he co-organised the Winter Olympics in Albertville.[11]

Barnier first joined the Cabinet as Minister of the Environment following the right's landslide victory in the 1993 legislative election. In 1995, Jacques Chirac appointed him Minister for European Affairs,[12] a role in which he served until the defeat of the presidential majority in the 1997 legislative election.[13] Barnier then served as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission from 1999 until 2004.[14] He subsequently served as Foreign Minister in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government until June 2005 when Dominique de Villepin replaced him with Philippe Douste-Blazy.[15] From 2006 until 2015, Barnier was vice-president of the European People's Party.[16] In 2007, under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, he re-joined the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.[5]

In 2016, the investigating judge Sabine Kheris requested that the case of Barnier, Dominique de Villepin and Michèle Alliot-Marie be referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic. The former ministers were suspected of having allowed the exfiltration of the mercenaries responsible for the attack on the Bouaké penal camp during the 2004 Ivory Coast conflict, killing nine French soldiers. Supporters of the Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo accused the French government of using the attack as a pretext for military retaliation against him.[17]

European politics

File:Michel Barnier 1999 (cropped).jpg
Official portrait of Barnier as EU Commissioner, 1999

Barnier worked in 2006 as a special adviser to José Manuel Barroso, then President of the European Commission, and presented a report to the Council of Ministers proposing the creation of a European civil-protection force.[18] During 2006–2007, he served as member of the Amato Group, a group of high-level European politicians unofficially working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.[19]

Barnier led the UMP list in Ile-de-France for the 2009 European Parliament election. In February 2010 he was confirmed as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.[20][21][22] In charge of European banking system reform, he argued for a "coherent single market with intelligent rules that apply everywhere".[23] As European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Barnier handled many important issues, such as the reform of the financial sector (40 pieces of legislation between 2010 and 2014), the banking union (starting with European Banking Supervision) and the digital single market.[24]

Barnier stood unsuccessfully for the nomination of the European People's Party to become President of the European Commission in March 2014, losing to Jean-Claude Juncker.[25] He was twice appointed Acting Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in Antonio Tajani's stead – first from 19 April to 25 May 2014, while Tajani was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 European Parliament elections, and secondly from 1 to 16 July 2014, after Tajani was elected and took up his seat.[26][27] From 2015, Barnier served as an unpaid special adviser to Juncker on defence policy.[28][29]

Brexit negotiator

On 27 July 2016, Barnier was announced as the European Commission's chief negotiator with the United Kingdom over leaving the European Union, under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. Commenting on the appointment, Juncker said: "I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job."[30]

From 2019 to 2021, Barnier led the European Commission's Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF).[31][32][33] He was the main negotiator for the 2020 trade deal talks between the UK and EU,[34] receiving his negotiating mandate from the European Council on 25 February 2020.[35]

In January 2021, Barnier was appointed special adviser to President Ursula von der Leyen overseeing the ratification of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, under new arrangements that handed responsibility for implementing the agreement to Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.[36][37]

2022 presidential campaign

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: 2022 French presidential election
File:EPP Congress Rotterdam - Day 2 (52114290243).jpg
Barnier at the European People's Party conference in Rotterdam, June 2022

In February 2021, Barnier set up a political faction within the Republicans under the name "Patriot and European" in preparation for a possible bid in the 2022 presidential election.[38][39]

On 27 August 2021, Barnier launched his presidential campaign. At the party's 2021 congress in December, he placed third in the first round of voting with 23.93% of the vote, after Éric Ciotti (on 25.59%) and Valérie Pécresse (on 25.00%); he subsequently endorsed Pécresse.[40] Pécresse was nominated in the second round with 61% of the vote, and proceeded to place in fifth place in the first round of the presidential election, the worst result ever recorded by the Republicans or their Gaullist predecessors[41] She endorsed Macron for the second round of the election.[42] After his defeat, Barnier retreated from front-line politics for most of the three following years.[43][44]

Prime Minister of France

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

See also: 2024 French legislative election § Aftermath, and Barnier government

Following gains by opposition parties in the legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron in the summer of 2024, the prime minister, Gabriel Attal, resigned. Macron initially refused his resignation but accepted it on 16 July.[45] On 5 September, Barnier was appointed as prime minister by Macron.[46] The period between Attal's resignation and Barnier's appointment was the longest period that the French Fifth Republic had spent without a prime minister.[44] Barnier is the oldest prime minister in modern French history. Dominique Moïsi, a French political scientist, described Barnier as a compromise candidate, chosen to be acceptable to parties from the centre, the right and the far right.[47]

Barnier's initial challenges as Prime Minister was forming a new government, passing the vote of confidence (with a minimum of 289 out of 577 votes) and submitting the 2025 budget by 1 October to parliament according to Reuters, further remarking that it would "be no easy task with the budget deficit already this year running billions of euros over target, leaving Barnier tough choices about calibrating spending cuts and tax rises" and risking the government's position in parliament.[48] On 6 September, Barnier stated that he would continue some of Macron's policies, including refusing to repeal the raising of the retirement age to 64. On immigration he said, "There still is a feeling that our borders are sieves and that migration flows aren't being controlled."[49] In an interview, he remarked that the new government would include the "presidential camp" and "maybe maybe ministers of the previous government".[50]

Barnier was faced with a National Assembly divided nearly evenly into three blocs: the leftist New Popular Front with a plurality of seats, Macron's centrist to centre-right Ensemble, and the far-right National Rally.[46][51] Marine Le Pen, the leader of National Rally, praised Barnier as "respectful of National Rally voters", but expressed caution as to his legislative agenda. The New Popular Front rejected Barnier's appointment and called for demonstrations against Macron. Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party, accused Macron of a "denial of democracy."[44] Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise, said that Macron had "stolen" the election by not appointing a prime minister from the New Popular Front[52] and called for protests against the new government.[53] According to France's Interior Ministry, around 110,000 people took part in these protests, which were held in Paris,[54] Montauban,[55] Nice, Lille, Strasbourg and Montpellier, as well as in several rural areas.[56]

On 2 December 2024, Barnier invoked article 49.3 of the French Constitution to adopt the Social Security budget for 2025 without submitting it to a parliamentary vote.[57] The decision happened after several last-ditch concessions to find a compromise failed, prompting both the New Popular Front and the National Rally to file motions of no confidence against his government.[58][59] On 4 December, a majority of deputies voted to oust Barnier's government, which became the first to lose a motion of no-confidence since Georges Pompidou's in 1962.[60]

Political positions

File:Brexit the time has come for the UK to clarify its position (31824571947).jpg
Barnier speaking about Brexit in the European Parliament in January 2019

Following his appointment as prime minister in 2024, the BBC described Barnier as "a committed, patriotic conservative in the tradition of ... Charles de Gaulle".[43] In a conversation with Politico during July 2024, after the 7 July snap election, Barnier said France's most pressing issues were immigration, the state of its public finances and rebuilding its industrial and agricultural capacities.[61] Upon his appointment as prime minister, he listed his main priorities as education, security and immigration control.[52]

During his 2021 presidential campaign, Barnier stated he would be in favour of proposing a referendum on whether to tighten the legal framework for immigration in France. As a candidate, he stated his intention in "putting a stop to non-European immigration for three to five years," during an interview with French weekly magazine Le Point.[61] He proposed to "immediately stop regularizations, rigorously limit family reunification, reduce the reception of foreign students and the systematic execution of the double penalty".[62][64] He also proposed expanding prison capacity by 20,000 and imposing mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes.[61]

On economic issues, Barnier has been characterised as close to the neoliberal policies of Emmanuel Macron, including the reduction of taxes and business regulation. As a presidential candidate, Barnier proposed cutting production taxes by €10 billion,[61] raising the retirement age from 62 to 65, lengthening the working week and tightening the conditions for access to social assistance.[62]

Barnier is regarded as pro-European, as supporting NATO, and as favouring support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.[47] He was described as a "Euro-ecstatic" by François Cornut-Gentille, his supporter and colleague in the Republicans.[61] During his presidential campaign, many media organisations commented that Barnier sounded like a Eurosceptic and Brexit supporter, contradicting previous positions he had taken on the matter.[65][66]

In 1981, Barnier voted for the abolition of capital punishment, following a number of other right-wing deputies in breaking party instructions not to do so.[67] In the same year, he was among the conservative politicians, including Jacques Chirac and François Fillon, who voted against reducing the age of consent for same-sex relationships to 15, the same as that for mixed-sex couples.[68] He has made few statements on same-sex relations in the years since.[61]

Personal life

Barnier has been a member of the Sustainability and Legacy Commission of the International Olympic Committee,[69] and of the board of trustees of Friends of Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.[70] In 2021, he published My Secret Brexit Diary, a memoir of the EU's negotiations with the UK during its withdrawal from the bloc.[71]

In 1982, Barnier married Isabelle Altmayer, a lawyer; they have three children.[72][43]

In October 2024, Barnier underwent surgery for a cervical lesion.[73]

Honours and decorations

National honours

Foreign honours

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of the Environment
1993–1995		 Succeeded by
Corinne Lepage
Preceded by Minister Delegate for European Affairs
1995–1997		 Succeeded by
Pierre Moscovici
Preceded by French European Commissioner
1999–2004
Served alongside: Pascal Lamy		 Succeeded by
Jacques Barrot
Preceded by
Preceded by European Commissioner for Regional Policy
1999–2004
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2004–2005		 Succeeded by
Philippe Douste-Blazy
Preceded by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
2007–2009		 Succeeded by
Bruno Le Maire
Preceded by French European Commissioner
2010–2014		 Succeeded by
Pierre Moscovici
Preceded by European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
2010–2014		 Succeeded by
Elżbieta Bieńkowska
as European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Succeeded by
Jonathan Hill
as European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
2024		 Succeeded by
François Bayrou
Order of precedence
Preceded by as former Prime Minister Order of precedence in France
Former Prime Minister		 Succeeded by
Didier Tabuteau
as Vice President of the Council of State

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Barnier as special adviser Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine European Voice, 19 February 2015.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Special Advisers to the President, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners of the European Commission Archived 19 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine European Commission.
  29. ↑ Simon Taylor (9 March 2015), European Commission special advisers Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine European Voice.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ George Parker, Jim Brunsden and Mure Dickie), EU 'not punishing' UK financial services sector, London envoy insists Archived 20 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine Financial Times.
  37. ↑ Barbara Moens and David M. Herszenhorn (19 January 2021), Barnier moves to 'special adviser' as Šefčovič to become point man on Brexit Archived 20 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  38. ↑ Elizabeth Pineau and Michel Rose (16 February 2021), Barnier launches political faction, fueling French presidential bid rumours Archived 12 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  39. ↑ Elisa Braun (16 February 2021), Barnier gathers allies to support national ambitions Archived 16 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  40. ↑ Richard Lough (2 December 2021), Pecresse emerges as favourite to win French centre-right's presidential ticket Archived 4 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 61.4 61.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ The "double penalty" refers to the removal of certain protections against deportation from foreign nationals who commit crimes in France.[63]
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Sustainability and Legacy Commission Archived 19 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine International Olympic Committee (IOC).
  70. ↑ Board of Trustees[permanent dead link] Friends of Europe.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. ↑ Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 5 maia 1998 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczenia.
  78. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  79. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  80. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  81. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Michel_Barnier&oldid=727681925"