Barnier: Monsieur Brexit buys Macron time, but French deadlock remains

Michel Barnier is not the solution to Emmanuel Macron’s self-inflicted travails, because there is no solution to the presidential fix.

Numbers are numbers, and in the current state of parliament the politician does not exist who can command a guaranteed majority.

What the former Mr Brexit might be able to do is buy the president a little time.

If by Christmas, Mr Barnier still happens to be in office – that will be regarded as a job pretty well done.

The last weeks of Macronian dithering have been painful to follow. Over and again his aides have chucked out trial balloons to an avid press corps – only to have each potential prime minister disavowed the following day.

Over and again we have been told that an appointment is imminent – only for the candidate to develop sudden handicaps that made them unsuitable for the post.

In each case, President Macron had to be sure that the potential nominee would fulfil two criteria.

First, that he or she would not unravel the president’s legacy – notably the pension reforms introduced so painfully two years ago.

And second, the person had to be – in the jargon – “non-censurable.” In other words, they had to be able to avoid automatic rejection – and ejection – by the oppositions in the Assembly.

Michel Barnier, 73, a calm, unrufflable former minister with proven negotiating skills, might finally fit the bill.