Demonstration of 300,000 French people against the Macron government

According to Isna, thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday against Emmanuel Macron’s decision to choose center-right politician Michel Barnier as the country’s prime minister, accusing the president’s left-wing political parties of ignoring the election results. The leftists were able to win over the right spectrum in the French parliamentary elections.

According to Reuters News agency, 73-year-old Barnier, who was the French foreign minister for a short time in 2004 and 2005, led the EU’s negotiations with Britain on the country’s exit from the union from 2016 to 2021. Barnier previously served as a minister in French governments during the presidency of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. He was also one of the commissioners of the European Union and after the Brexit referendum, he was one of the main negotiators about the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Barnier was also involved in the nuclear negotiations with Iran during his time at the French Foreign Ministry.

Macron, after 2 months of searching for his prime minister, announced on Thursday the former negotiator of the European Union as the prime minister of France.

After Macron’s decision, the French took to the streets to protest Barnier’s election, but on Saturday evening, Reuters reported that Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the far-left Invincible France (LFI) party, told protesters at the start of a march in eastern Paris. “Democracy is not only the art of knowing how to accept victory, but also the humility to accept defeat. “I want you to fight a long battle.”

Reuters also reported, citing protest organizers, that more than 300,000 people demonstrated peacefully across France. According to them, about 160,000 people have held a peaceful demonstration in the capital of this country, Paris. Earlier, government officials claimed that the population of demonstrators in Paris is only 26 thousand people.

According to Reuters, the French Ministry of Interior always publishes the number of protesters and demonstrators much less than the reality.

Denial of democracy

France has been under pressure from the European Commission and the financial markets for some time to reduce its budget deficit, and Barnier has two heavy tasks ahead of him, including the implementation of reforms and the approval of the 2025 budget.

While the left-wing coalition known as the “New Popular Front” unexpectedly won in the early July elections, the appointment of Barnier by Macron has raised the voice of the French leftists, such as the Indefatigable French Party, and they have accused the French president of stealing these elections for his benefit. they do

According to Reuters, in 130 places in France, people started peaceful demonstrations and carried banners around their demand for Macron’s impeachment.

Jean Schmidt, a 45-year-old civil servant, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Paris march: “Barnier has no social conscience and will form a government that will be on the same lines as the previous governments. So now is the time to protest.”

According to an Ellab poll published on Friday, 74 percent of French people believe that Macron ignored the results of the early July election, and 55 percent believe that Macron stole the election. Barnier’s center-right party, known as the Republicans, came in fifth place in early elections and has less than 50 seats in parliament.

On the other hand, according to the report of the Russian news agency “Tass”, in addition to Paris, large demonstrations were held in “Nantes”, “Nice”, “Marseille”, “Rennes” and other large French cities. The participants accuse the president of a “coup” and violation of the principles of democracy, and believe that he should have appointed Lucy Castets, the candidate endorsed by the left-wing Popular Front, as prime minister.

Today, Barnier continued to consult with other politicians about the formation of the government at the same time as these protests, but he also faced the prospect of receiving a vote of no confidence in this situation, and he must start discussing the 2025 budget from the beginning of October.

The New People’s Front coalition together with the National Assembly Party has the majority of seats in the parliament and they can overthrow Barnier with a vote of no confidence if they agree with each other.

“Jordan Bardella”, the leader of the French National Community Party, told “B. F. M” said: “Barnier is a prime minister under observation. “Nothing can be done without our consent.”

end of message