French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister on Thursday, in a bid to put an end to political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election.

A key question will now be whether Barnier's government will manage to get reforms adopted by a deeply divided parliament.

The discreet, conservative politician will quickly face a baptism of fire as time is running out to prepare France's 2025 budget, which could trigger a vote of no confidence if other parties are not satisfied.

At 73, Barnier will be the oldest prime minister in France's modern political history, taking over from Gabriel Attal, who was the youngest.

Barnier first became a lawmaker aged 27, and later held roles in several French governments, including foreign minister and agriculture minister. He is best known abroad for having led the EU's talks with Britain over its exit from the bloc from 2016-2021.

Macron had considered a string of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of whom mustered enough support to guarantee a stable government, which was his key criteria.

There is no guarantee Barnier's government will be able to convince parliament to adopt reforms or keep him in power for long.

But at least the far-right National Rally (RN), the biggest single party in parliament after the early July election, signalled earlier on Thursday it would not immediately reject Barnier if he met certain conditions.

Barnier is a staunch pro-European and a moderate career politician, but he toughened his discourse considerably during his failed 2021 bid to get his conservative party's ticket for the presidential election, saying immigration was out of control - a view shared by the RN.