Barnier, who was named premier earlier this month, first submitted an initial list of Cabinet members to President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday following days of tense negotiations over the makeup of the government.
Key figures within the pro-Macron coalition had raised concerns over rumors that Barnier was open to the idea of raising taxes to reduce France’s growing deficit — a prospect Macron’s Renaissance party had identified as a “red line.”
Then there was an issue over how many key Cabinet positions the Republicans — Barnier’s conservative party, which holds a small number of seats in the French National Assembly — would secure at the expense of Macron’s centrists. The French president urged his prime minister to build a government which would lean towards “national unity.”
Barnier ended up with a government that includes a mix of holdovers from the last government and several conservative newcomers.
One of the most noteworthy appointments is Bruno Retailleau — a staunch conservative known for his hardline stances on immigration which in the past led to accusations of racism — as interior minister. Several prominent allies of French President Emmanuel Macrons voiced concerns of Retailleau’s potential appointment after rumors surfaced that he would get the interior minister post earlier this week. Among them was Anne Genetet, who was named education minister.
Jean-Noël Barrot, a member of the Macron-allied centrist Democratic Movement, will serve as the France’s foreign affairs minister. He is the son of former EU commissioner Jacques Barrot and previously served as France’s minister for European affairs.