After weeks of negotiations, France has a new government dominated by conservative right-wing figures.
Its line-up has triggered an avalanche of criticism both from the left and the far-right, which have described it as a continuation of President Emmanuel Macron's policies despite his bloc losing the latest parliamentary elections.
The most divisive new face is that of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, 63, whose hardline position against immigration has reportedly caused unease even among Mr Macron's allies. Mr Retailleau, the current head of the right-wing The Republicans (LR) in the upper house Senate, is known for “order”, “authority” and “firmness”.
Mr Retailleau is also rumoured to have been chosen because he has no presidential ambitions for 2027 and is unlikely to use his new ministerial role as a launch pad for a campaign against whoever will become Mr Macron's political heir.
The same can be said of the new Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, a relatively unknown figure who is expected to let Mr Macron continue steering foreign policy. While Mr Barrot is a centrist, other right-wing conservative figures include Education Minister Patrick Hetzel and Laurence Garnier, secretary of state in charge of consumption.
The new government, announced on Saturday, has been described as “having no future” by far-right leader Jordan Bardella, while leftist politician Jean-Luc Melenchon said it was a cabinet “of losers … in the hands of the worrying Minister of the Interior”.
With only 47 MPs out of 577, LR fared poorly in the election and came behind a left-wing coalition, Mr Macron's centrist group and the far-right. This did not stop Mr Macron from choosing a historic LR figure, Michel Barnier, 73, as Prime Minister – the argument at the Elysee Palace was that stability was the most important criteria and that a left-wing government would have been immediately toppled. With no majority backing it, the new government is widely viewed as one of the most fragile in decades.
Originally from the Vendee region, where he keeps chickens, sheep and a donkey, Mr Retailleau's political career was launched thanks to his heavy involvement in the local Puy du Fou theme park, one of the most popular in France. An avid horseback rider, he was spotted as a young man among the many volunteers who participate in lavish re-enactments of French history by the park's founder, Philippe de Villiers, an ultranationalist politician. The park has been described by its critics as an ideological weapon of pro-monarchy conservatives due to its loose rewriting of history.
An actress in the role of Joan of Arc performs during a ceremony as part of a presentation of a 15th-century ring believed to have been owned by the French heroine at the Puy du Fou historical theme park in Les Epesses, in 2016. AFP
Mr Retailleau's relationship with Mr de Villiers, who supported him in his successful campaign to become a politician at the age 33, has since soured and he left his political party in 2010 to join LR. A self-professed practising Catholic in a country where more than half the population says it is not religious, Mr Retailleau became the figurehead of LR's conservative wing and unsuccessfully campaigned against the legalisation of gay marriage and making abortion a constitutional right.
He was accused of racism by other politicians after he described the riots that spread in poor suburbs in July last year as a “sort of regression to ethnic origins” in an apparent reference to the North African and immigrant background of rioters. He repeated his comments despite criticism, saying that “falling back on one's origins, whether they are ethnic, religious or social,” is a “regression in relation to the universalist project of the [French] Republic, which promotes the transcendence of origins in favour of a single national community.”
Mr Retailleau has, for years, defended measures that go against the French constitution and are also supported by the far-right, including barring foreigners from access to social benefits and the obligation to file an asylum request at a consulate abroad and not on French territory, according to Le Monde.
However, he refused to follow LR's president Eric Ciotti when he rallied far-right politician Marine Le Pen before the July election, describing such a move as a “betrayal.” Traditional political parties normally shy away from alliances with the far-right due to its controversial anti-Semitic past, but its efforts to modernise its image and surging popularity have weakened such positions.
This combination of files photographs created on September 21, 2024 shows newly-appointed members of the cabinet of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier (top left) after its announcement (From top 1st row-top-from left) Justice Minister Didier Migaud; Minister for regional partnership and decentralisation, Catherine Vautrin; Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau; Education Minister Anne Genetet and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. (2nd row-from left) Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Gender Equality Paul Christophe; Minister of housing and urban renewal Valerie Letard; Culture Minister Rachida Dati; Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu; Minister for Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and risk prevention Agnes Pannier-Runacher; Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand; Minister for Health and access to care Genevieve Darrieussecq. (Bottom row-from left) Minister of Agriculture, food sovereignty and forestry Annie Genevard; Minister of labour and employment Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet; Minister of sports, youth and associations Gil Averous; Higher Education and Research Minister Patrick Hetzel; Minister for the civil service, simplification and transformation of public action Guillaume Kasbarian; Minister attached to the Prime Minister, responsible for Overseas Francois-Noel Buffet; Minister attached to the Prime Minister, responsible for the budget and public accounts Laurent Saint-Martin. AFP
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
