Mr Barnier, who negotiated Britain’s departure from the European Union between 2016 and 2019, has been tasked with forming a new government by French president Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Macron has spent weeks trying to find a compromise candidate for his minority government that would not be blocked by the powerful left-wing alliance in parliament or the hard-right National Rally (RN).
The 73-year-old is seen as being more acceptable to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and the moderate wing of the Socialist Party, the junior partner of the left-wing New Popular Front.
However, hard-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon criticised the appointment and said the new executive was “practically a government of Macron along with Marine le Pen” while calling for protests.
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