After 50 days of a caretaker government, President Emmanuel Macron has finally named former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as prime minister, tasked "with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people". Who is he and what are his chances of surviving a no-confidence vote in France's divided parliament?
Barnier was not an obvious candidate for the post, but after weeks of discussions with leaders of all the major French parties, he emerged as a more viable pick than either Socialist former prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve or conservative regional president Xavier Bertrand – the two names most often floated.
