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00:00Best known internationally as the European Union's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier
00:05is a conservative career politician who has held minister positions in several French
00:10governments including under Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.
00:15He was first elected to parliament in 1978, aged 27, representing the Alpine Savoie district.
00:22In 1992, he helped organise the Winter Olympics in his constituency, an event still central
00:28to his public image.
00:30Barnier is pro-European and has twice worked as an EU commissioner.
00:36First as a commissioner for internal market and services, during which he negotiated new
00:41regulation of financial markets after the 2008 global crash.
00:46Then in 2016, Barnier took the reins in the Brexit negotiations after Britain's referendum
00:52on leaving the bloc.
00:55We avoided cherry-picking and we defended the values and principles of the European
00:59Union.
01:00This was our first requirement.
01:04Long seen as a moderate, the 73-year-old toughened his discourse during his failed bid to get
01:10his conservative party's ticket for the 2022 presidential election, saying immigration
01:16was out of control.
01:18Since then, Barnier has kept a low profile.
01:21For Emmanuel Macron, he offers continuity and reassurance that he won't undo his political
01:26agenda of the last few years.