We don’t have a French government, yet

Of all the heads of government appointed under the Fifth Republic, Michel Barnier had already broken a record: that of age, being the new prime minister, at 73, the ‘ oldest tenant of Matignon. On Saturday, September 14, he broke another record: on that day, despite being appointed nine days earlier, he was the longest-serving person to forme a government.

The previous record was held by Georges Pompidou: in 1962, the prime minister of General de Gaulle appointed his government in eight days. Second on the podium was Michel Rocard, who took five days in 1988.

The Constitution does not impose time limits

More recently, Élisabeth Borne took four days to unveil the list of ministers who would run the country. Overall, the trend under Emmanuel Macron’s presidency is one of waiting: so far, his prime ministers have taken an average of 2.7 days to form a government, a longer time than his predecessors.

The difficulty for Michel Barnier (who himself waited fifty-one days to be appointed by Emmanuel Macron…) lies in the fact that the presidential party did not win a majority in July’s legislative elections. It is customary for the President of the Republic to choose the prime minister from the political group that scored best in the National Assembly, but he is not obliged to do so.

Choosing to appoint a head of government from the Les Républicains group makes Michel Barnier’s task difficult. However, the Constitution imposes no deadline on him, so he is free to do what he wants. Especially since if he does not want to face a motion of censure in his first government, the choices have to fit…