France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, meeting his cabinet ministers together for the first time on Monday, told them to focus on action rather than stunts as he sought to change voters’ perceptions that previous governments had been too arrogant.
The cabinet was appointed at the weekend after President Emmanuel Macron and Barnier struggled to put together a team following a snap election in early July that delivered a hung parliament.
“Focus on action rather than talk,” his office quoted Barnier as telling the ministers ahead of a cabinet meeting in the afternoon. “No theatrics.”
Barnier said they must show respect for all their compatriots and political parties, listen to everyone, and be humble.
Opinion polls and elections have for years shown that voters are unhappy with Macron’s top-down style of power.
The ministers in Barnier’s new cabinet, including the finance and budget ministers, are mostly little known to the French public and many have little political clout.
One exception is new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, 63, a veteran from The Republicans (LR) conservative party, and a driving force behind the party’s rightward shift.
“The French people want more order – order in the streets, order at the borders,” Retailleau said as he took office.
He said he would be hard on those who attack or disrespect politicians and would also take a tough stance on antisemitism.
