The seven-week wait is finally over. Succeeding France's youngest prime minister of the past century is its oldest yet: Michel Barner. President Macron on Thursday appointed the Brussels veteran to try and form a government that can survive a vote of no confidence. The EU's former Brexit negotiator will now have to muster all his negotiating savvy.

Macron's gamble on snap elections delivered the most splintered parliament since the Fifth Republic while appointing a new Gaullist PM whose party finished fifth. That begs the broader question: Who has got the legitimacy to govern? And with what mandate after those elections?   

General de Gaulle introduced the 1958 Constitution which granted more powers to sitting presidents, allowing them to weigh on policy despite lacking a majority in government. How much power does Macron still have now that he has shown his hand and played his cards?  

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown.