Michel Barnier

Michel Barnier (full name Michel Jean Barnier; born January 9, 1951) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024.

He has been a member of a series of successive neo-Gaullist parties (the UDR, RPR, UMP and LR). From 1993 to 2009 he held ministerial posts in the governments of several prime ministers, from Édouard Balladur to François Fillon. At the European level, he was European Commissioner for Regional Policy (1999–2004) and for the Internal Market and Services (2010–2014), and vice-president of the European People's Party (2010–2015); from 2016 to 2021 he served as the EU's chief negotiator on Brexit.

In 2021 he sought The Republicans' nomination for the 2022 presidential election, finishing third at the party congress. Following the 2024 snap legislative election, President Emmanuel Macron appointed him prime minister in September; at 73, he was the oldest person to take office as prime minister under the Fifth Republic, succeeding Gabriel Attal, the youngest. On December 4 of that year his government was brought down by a vote of no confidence in Parliament and he resigned along with his cabinet; François Bayrou succeeded him on December 13, making his the shortest tenure of any prime minister of the Fifth Republic. In September 2025 he was elected to the National Assembly to represent Paris's 2nd constituency.

Politically he is a pro-European, Gaullist conservative who advocates stricter controls on non-European immigration, expanded prison capacity and mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes.