Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to protest against Macron’s decision to appoint centre-right Prime Minister Barnier. They accuse the President of stealing the election.
Two days after Emmanuel Macron named Michel Barnier, a former chief Brexit negotiator for the European Commission and a member of the centre-right Les Républicains party, as France’s new prime minister, thousands of people took to the streets this month to protest against the decision.
According to the BBC, around 130 protests are taking place, the largest of them in central Paris. Marseille and Lyon are other cities where the streets have been invaded with posters and slogans such as “denial of democracy” and “stolen elections”.
In response to Barnier’s appointment, two months after legislative elections in which no party won an absolute majority, trade unions and left-wing political parties called for mass protests across the country on Saturday, in anticipation of further action, including possible strikes on October 1.
Among the calls was one from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Insoumise, a party that is part of the New Popular Front, which won the July 7 elections in France. On Thursday, the leader of the French far-left criticised Macron’s decision, saying the choice “does not correspond to the results of the elections” and called for the “most powerful mobilisation possible” in national marches.
The left also accused the French president of denying democracy and stealing the election, after refusing to choose the candidate of the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, Lucie Castets, as prime minister.
According to The Guardian, following the decision, the electoral institute Elabe published a poll on Friday showing that 74% of French people believe that Macron did not respect the election results, and 55% believe that he stole them.
Michel Barnier, meanwhile, said he was open to forming a government with politicians from across the political spectrum, including the left. Despite the appointment, Barnier’s official status as prime minister depends on parliamentary approval.
Censorship from the left, the ambiguity of the UN and of the president himself: The challenges of Michel Barnier, Prime Minister at 73
Source: Observadora
