Macron tapped the former Brexit negotiator as premier in September in a bid to bring stability to France after a snap election this summer resulted in a hung parliament, but his appointment was met with fury by the left-wing alliance that won the most seats in that contest.
Lawmakers from the left have vowed to put forward a motion of no confidence to bring down Barnier and his government, which it could be tabled as early as next week.
Mixed reactions
Nobody appeared entirely satisfied from Barnier’s first address to lawmakers.
Even among the government’s supporters, the reactions to Barnier’s speech were sometimes muted. Lawmakers from his conservative party, the Republicans, were the only ones to give him a standing ovation after the speech. The centrists who nominally back Barnier did not.
In her formal response, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen slammed Barnier’s roadmap as a collection of “half measures” that would not solve France’s problems.
The survival of Barnier’s government depends on lawmakers from Le Pen’s National Rally refraining from voting for the left’s no-confidence motion, though she has already hinted that she would not attempt to topple the government straight away.