Thousands of French people took to the streets to protest Macron’s election as prime minister

According to Isna, it was on Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron announced the appointment of Michel Barnier, the former foreign minister of the country, as the new prime minister, ending the impasse that had been created after the early parliamentary elections in July. Meanwhile, after experiencing the unexpected defeat of his party in the European Parliament elections in June and the jump in the votes of the far-right, Macron felt threatened and decided to take a political gamble by issuing a call for early elections in July.

However, discontent with Macron continues, with thousands of protesters taking to the streets in cities across France on Saturday to protest the appointment of centre-right Michel Barnier as prime minister.

While the left-wing coalition known as the “New Popular Front” unexpectedly won in July’s early elections, Macron’s appointment of Barnier has raised the voice of the French leftists, who accuse the French president of stealing the election for their own benefit.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Macron appointed 73-year-old Barnier as the prime minister, who, after obtaining unfavorable results in the elections, had put the French political atmosphere at a dead end in the negotiations and search for the prime minister’s choice for 2 months.

The 73-year-old Barnier, who was briefly France’s foreign minister in 2004 and 2005, led the EU’s negotiations with Britain over 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 has considered a series of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of whom have won enough support to secure a stable government, and there is no guarantee Barnier’s government can pass the reforms through parliament.

But at least the far-right National Assembly (RN), one of the largest parties in parliament after July’s primary election, said earlier Thursday that it would not oppose Barnier if certain conditions were met.

In an interview Friday night after announcing his appointment, the French prime minister said his government, which lacks a clear majority, will include conservatives, members of Macron’s political camp, as well as leftists.

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. The left-wing “France Invincible” party accused Macron of disregarding democracy and stealing the election by opposing the “New Popular Front” option for prime minister.

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.

Unions, student organizations and left-wing parties in France have called for a nationwide demonstration today and have announced a plan for extensive protest actions for October 1st, including possible strikes.

The French Invincible Party announced that 130 demonstrations were held across France today.

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 Bardela”, the leader of the French National Community Party, told “BFM” channel: “Barnier is a prime minister under observation. “Nothing can be done without our consent.”

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