Teathat appointment Michel Barnier, former Secretary General of the European Union Chief Brexit NegotiatorOn September 5, France will have a new prime minister, ending two months of political wrangling and procrastination. President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision after talks with people across the political spectrum to break the deadlock created by a political crisis. Inconclusive parliamentary election results in July. Mr Barnier’s selection ends a tense and heated chapter. But it opens another, one that could be even more challenging.