Grand Barnier: France’s new prime minister

French Government Formation and Political Crisis

• President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Michel Barnier, 73, as the new Prime Minister following a two-month political crisis triggered by a snap election that left the National Assembly with no clear majority.
• Barnier, a veteran of the centre-right Republicans' party and former EU Brexit negotiator, was not Macron's initial choice and has previously criticized the President's governing style as "solitary and arrogant."
• The appointment faces immediate backlash from the left-wing alliance (a bloc of four parties from socialists to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's hard left), which holds the largest parliamentary block but remains nearly 100 seats short of a majority.
• Left-wing factions claim the election was "stolen" and have called for protests on September 7th, arguing that the party that secured the most seats should dictate the government rather than a centre-right figure.
• Barnier's selection is viewed as a strategic move to neutralize the far-right vote of Marine Le Pen's party, which acts as a "veto player" in the parliament; Barnier is considered "compromised" due to his past hardline stance on immigration.
• The new government must prioritize drafting a national budget by October 1st, as the current deficit has reached 5.6%, significantly exceeding the EU's 3% limit and the government's original projections.
• The arrangement represents an uncharted "cohabitation" scenario where the President and Prime Minister may disagree on policy, creating a potential "rapport de force" regarding ministerial appointments and decision-making.

U.S. Presidential Election Dynamics

• Donald Trump's campaign strategy has shifted from attacking Joe Biden's age to relentlessly attacking Kamala Harris, utilizing negative advertising to link her to border failures, inflation, and economic instability over the last four years.
• In the final nine weeks of the campaign, Trump-funded ads dominate spending, with over 50% of TV ad dollars in recent weeks devoted to negative messaging, compared to 43% for Harris's camp.
• Kamala Harris's campaign focuses on biographical storytelling to reintroduce her to voters, emphasizing her middle-class background and diverse coalition building, rather than immediate aggressive counter-attacks.
• While Harris has improved polling numbers compared to Biden, she has not yet fully reclaimed support among voters under 30, Black, and Hispanic demographics, making the race contingent on shifting margins in swing states by 5–10 percentage points.
• Harris remains willing to characterize Trump as a threat to American democracy, though the Democratic campaign maintains that any shift toward purely negative advertising would likely occur later in the cycle.

Obituary: Simon Verity

• Simon Verity, a renowned stone sculptor and architectural mason, has died at age 79, celebrated for his mastery of traditional tools (hammer, chisel, mallet) and his ability to reveal forms within stone blocks.
• His most significant work was the "Portal of Paradise" at St. John the Divine in Manhattan, where he carved 31 Old Testament prophets based on the faces of real New Yorkers to emphasize community cohesion.
• Verity's portfolio includes whimsical commissions such as a carved whale for King Charles III and a teacup made of broken crockery for Elton John, alongside extensive work restoring medieval architectural styles.
• He was particularly interested in the flow of water and time, often creating grottos and mosaics using diverse materials like Murano glass and shattered building elements.