Public protests swept across France on Saturday, as thousands of individuals expressed their displeasure at President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of Michel Barnier, a centre-right politician and the European Union’s ex-Brexit negotiator, as prime minister. Critics from leftist parties have accused Macron of appropriating legislative elections.
The 73-year-old Barnier, a conservative, stepped into his new role following Macron’s unsatisfactory call for a legislative election that resulted in a hung parliament split into three factions. Macron’s selection concluded a two-month search for a prime minister. In an initial government interview on Friday, Barnier declared that his administration, bereft of a distinct majority, would incorporate conservatives, several of Macron’s cohort, and possibly a few from the left.
Despite the complex challenge of enacting reforms and delineating the 2025 budget amidst European Commission and bond market demands for a slashed deficit, Barnier accepts the responsibility. However, the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party and other left-wing parties blame Macron for subverting democracy and election theft. He rejected the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance’s candidate who prevailed in the July vote.
On Friday, Elabe’s poll disclosed that 74% of the French populace believe Macron ignored the election outcomes, with 55% perceiving his actions as tantamount to electoral theft.
In retaliation against Barnier’s appointment – whose centre-right Les Republicains party was the fifth group in parliament with fewer than 50 parliamentarians – leftist party chiefs, union leaders, and student organisations mobilised widespread protests on Saturday. These protests precede further actions such as potential October 1st strikes. The LFI announced that 130 protests would surge across the nation.
Barnier worked on Saturday to establish a government, a challenging endeavour considering a possible vote of no-confidence. This comes ahead of a crucial discussion of the 2025 draft budget in parliament in early October.
The NFP and the far-right National Rally (RN) retain a majority and could remove the prime minister through a no-confidence vote if they decide to join forces. The RN offered implicit support for Barnier, given certain conditions are met, thus rendering it the unofficial yet substantial influencer for the new government.
The RN party leader, Jordan Bardella, announced during an interview with BFM on Saturday, “Barnier is a prime minister under strict observation. Without us, nothing can transpire.”