Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday to protest against the new prime minister.
Two months after delivering a hung parliament.
The elections saw a Left coalition – The or the New Popular Front (NFP) — wins the most seats in the lower house of parliament.
No centrist ensemble or Together the group was second and far-right National Gathering Or the National Rally and its allies were third.
Barnier is a member of Les Républiques or Republicans who came fourth. No group received an overall majority.
The left-wing coalition condemned Barnier’s appointment
Macron’s decision to appoint Barnier, a veteran conservative, over an NFP politician was condemned by the French left. They called it a “power grab” that did not reflect the will of the electorate and undermined democracy.
On Friday night, polls suggested that 74% of French voters thought Macron had “ignored” the election results, while 55% believed he had “stolen”.
“The French people are revolting, they have entered a revolution,” said Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the hard left. Insoumise France or “France Unbowed” or LFI, the largest party in the NFP alliance.
“Democracy is not only the art of admitting that you have won, it is also the humility to admit that you have lost,” he added. “There will be no truce, no ceasefire. I challenge you to a long-term battle.
Why are French voters protesting?
At the Place de la Bastille, a square where the Bastille prison once stood, some protesters held placards reading: “Where’s my vote?”
Protester Menon Bonijol told the AFP news agency that France was “falling apart.” The 21-year-old believed that “as long as Macron is in power, it will be useless to express my opinion.”
In the southwestern city of Montauban, a rally speaker told the crowd that “the people have been neglected.”
Demonstrations were initially announced by student unions in late August and called by Mélenchon’s LFI.
French authorities were expecting about 15,000 participants in 150 events across the country, including about 2,000 in Paris.
But Barnier’s appointment on Thursday pushed that figure to more than 30,000, with 8,000 expected in the capital.
French PM Barnier far-right ‘under surveillance’
While Barnier’s appointment has angered the political left, the far-right RN has cautiously welcomed the move.
“This is a man who has never gone too far in the way he has talked about RN or wanted to ban it,” the party leader said.
“This is a debater who meets our primary criteria, which was for someone who respects the various political forces.”
who was the RN’s candidate for Prime Minister after the first round of voting, said: “Mr. Barnier is the prime minister overseen by a party that is now negligible in the parliamentary and democratic game: the national rally. The reality is that nothing can be done without us now.
Who is Michel Barnier?
The NFP Alliance proposed Lucie Castets as prime minister, but Macron rejected the idea, arguing that the 37-year-old economist would not survive a confidence vote in a hung parliament.
Barnier is perhaps best known outside of France for his role on Brexit.
Domestically, he has held several French cabinet positions, including Minister of the Environment (1993–1995), Ministerial Representative for European Affairs (1995–1997), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004–2005) and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (2007). -2009).
But critics have wasted no time digging into his historic parliamentary record – it shows he was one of 155 lawmakers who voted against the 1981 law decriminalizing homosexuality.
Barnier’s predecessor was France’s first openly gay prime minister and, at 34, also its youngest. Barnier, 73, will be its oldest.
mf/rm (AFP, Reuters, AP)
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