Barnier, 73, the oldest premier in the history of modern France, has been tasked with forming “a unifying government in the service of the country”, it said.

In a striking contrast, the former foreign minister succeeds Gabriel Attal, 35, a man less than half his age and who served only eight months in office.

The appointment of the veteran politician, a member of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party and not affiliated to Macron’s centrist faction, was greeted with dismay by the left which may seek to topple him with a no-confidence motion.

A left-wing coalition emerged as France’s biggest political force after the elections earlier this summer but with not enough seats for an overall majority.

Macron’s centrist faction and the far right make up the two other major groups in the National Assembly.

In France, the president names the prime minster, who can then be censured by parliament.

The Local’s French politics expert John Lichfield said: “Michel Barnier is the ultimate safe pair of hands, but he will need several pairs of hands and an agile brain – at 73 years old – to prevent one crisis from turning into another one.

“He walks into a serious financial crisis and a National Assembly two-thirds willing him to fail – even if it appears Marine Le Pen has agreed not to support a censure vote against him.” 

Conservative ex-minister Xavier Bertrand and former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve had been seen as the initial favourites to become premier, but both figures fell by the wayside with the mathematics of France’s new parliament stacked against them.

Marine Le Pen ‘decides’

Barnier has been all but invisible in French political life since failing to win his party’s nomination to challenge Macron for the presidency in 2022 during a campaign where he tacked further right and suggested a moratorium on immigration.

The former foreign minister and EU commissioner is “Macron-compatible” and would not be immediately voted out by parliament, an advisor to the president told AFP, asking not to be named.

A minister in the outgoing government, who also asked not to be named, said he was “very popular with right-wing members of parliament without being an irritant on the left”.

The RN of Le Pen indicated it would not automatically vote down Barnier and would wait and see what programme he lays out in his first address to parliament.

“We will wait to see Mr Barnier’s policy speech,” said Le Pen.

Macron’s predecessor Francois Hollande said he believed the RN had “given a kind of endorsement” to Barnier’s appointment.

As well as two stints as an EU commissioner and handling the thorny negotiations on Britain’s exit from the bloc, Barnier served as a minister under the right-wing administrations of presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed his nomination, saying she knew Barnier had “the interests of Europe and France at heart”.

With a half century career behind him, Barnier who proudly extols his origins in the French Alps rather than Paris, first become a member of parliament aged just 27.

Opponents noted that as a youthful conservative lawmaker, he voted against the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1981.

The composition of the new cabinet — set to be announced in the coming days — will be closely watched for signs of concessions to Macron’s political foes.

‘Tough’ task 

Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, whose La France Insoumise (LFI) and allies belong to a left-wing bloc, said Macron naming Barnier meant the election had been “stolen from the French”.

Macron’s decision comes under the gun of a deadline to submit a draft 2025 budget for France’s strained government finances before October 1st.

It also marks his attempt to acknowledge rejection of his seven-year rule without giving up on hard-fought reforms, chief among them last year’s widely resented increase to the official retirement age to 64 from 62.

Barnier’s “task looks tough, but difficulty has never scared him,” said former prime minister Edouard Philippe who earlier this week announced he would seek to succeed Macron in 2027 presidential elections.

After the July election deprived Macron of his relative majority in parliament, the centrist president drew out the appointment of a new prime minister for a period unprecedented since World War II, through the July-August Olympic Games and beyond.

Attal, who commentators believe harbours further political ambitions, bowed out by releasing a slick video of his time in office on his social media channels.

“The bond we have is the most precious thing I have. Count on me to keep on threading it,” he said.