Macron wants to keep Breton as French EU commissioner - source

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton looks on before French President Emmanuel Macron's speech on Europe in the amphitheatre of the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, 25 April 2024. Christophe Petit Tesson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has told political leaders from the EU's liberal Renew party grouping that he had decided to put forward Thierry Breton as French EU commissioner again, a diplomatic source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The decision, confirming information from Le Monde newspaper comes after the far-right National Rally said it wanted to decide who the French commissioner would be should it win power in snap parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7.

Each EU member state has the right to name one commissioner while the attribution of portfolios will be the result of often tough negotiations between national government chiefs and the EU's top executive, most likely German conservative Ursula von der Leyen.

Each commissioner then needs to be approved by the EU parliament.

Breton, a former business executive, is currently in charge of the EU's internal market overseeing high-profile issues from Big Tech regulation to urgent ammunition production.

France's presidential office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, editing by Richard Lough and Tassilo Hummel)