Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday after President Emmanuel Macron rejected demands from the French left to form a government and instead appointed conservative veteran Michel Barnier as prime minister.
There was a protest call from Left groupswho had done this before Nomination of Barnier But after Macron decided not to officially appoint Lucie Castets, the prime ministerial candidate of the pan-left New Popular Front alliance. Macron argued that the castets would not survive an immediate vote of no confidence, but organizers of the demonstration described Macron’s decision as a “coup de force”.
Protests took place in Paris as well as other cities, including Nantes in the west, Nice and Marseille in the south, and Strasbourg in the east. In Paris, demonstrators gathered at the Place de la Bastille and tensions rose as police prepared for possible clashes. Media reports.
The left-wing alliance won a surprise victory in France’s snap election, which Macron called after the far-right’s victory in European elections in June. However, despite winning first place, the New Popular Front fell well short of an absolute majority.
The French Greens, the Communists and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed movement all called on their supporters to join the protests. Samajwadi Party is the only one of the four main members of this alliance that has chosen not to participate.
At the head of a Parisian procession, Melenchon spoke passionately, declaring that “the French people are in revolt. They have entered the revolution.” “There will be no truce, no truce. I call you for a long-term fight,” he added.
All four left-wing forces in the New Popular Front, which controls 193 of the 577 seats in the French National Assembly, have announced plans to vote for a no-confidence motion against Barnier’s government.
Barnier, a former European commissioner and Brexit negotiator, is not a member of the pro-Macron party but of the conservative Les Républiques, which won less than 7 percent of the vote in the first round of French snap elections.
when Can count on Barnier With support from pro-Macron forces and Les Républiques, the sustainability of his government will likely depend on the far-right. Silent support of national rally.
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