In picking Barnier, Macron has put his – and France’s – fate in Le Pen’s hands

Barnier, whose Les Républicains (LR) party finished a distant fourth in the election with just 47 of the 577 parliamentary seats, has a reputation as a consensus builder and a safe, if unimaginative, pair of hands. But his survival in government will depend entirely on the goodwill of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN). That makes her the kingmaker and allows her to pull the plug on Barnier, and perhaps on Macron, whenever it suits her to back a no-confidence vote.