Thousands Demonstrate Against New French Prime Minister
French protesters have charged President Emmanuel Macron with ignoring the outcomes of the parliamentary election. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Widespread protests erupted across France on Saturday following President Emmanuel Macron's appointment of Michel Barnier, a conservative figure, as the new prime minister, overriding the preferred candidate of the largest parliamentary group.
Demonstrators demanded Macron's stepping down, labeling his actions as a "power grab" and an act of "stealing the election."
Previously, Macron overlooked Lucie Castets, the nominee from the New Popular Front alliance, which garnered the most seats in the July parliamentary elections, and instead chose to appoint Michel Barnier. Barnier, from the center-right The Republicans party and former chief Brexit negotiator for the EU, succeeded Gabriel Attal who resigned post-election. Despite his party coming in fourth in the election with 48 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, Barnier was nominated by Macron on Wednesday.
The Interior Ministry reported that the protests drew approximately 110,000 participants nationwide, with about 26,000 in Paris. Contrarily, Mathilde Panot from the France Unbowed party claimed on X that the Parisian protests alone attracted 160,000 individuals and more than 300,000 demonstrators took part across the country.
Additional protests occurred in other major cities including Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Rennes.
Protesters in Paris waved banners proclaiming, "Democracy annulled, Macron dismissed" and "Stop the Macron coup!" as they marched from the Bastille to the Place de la Nation.
“We are fed up with Macron!" voiced one protester. “We all mobilized to vote for the NFP for very good reasons. We chose the ballot box route because we were always led to believe that it was the best way to express our demands, we voted and we were not heard.”
“If we do not react today, tomorrow France will wake up in the hands of a dictatorship,” another protester expressed.
Others criticized Macron for not following the traditional practice of selecting the prime minister from the largest party, accusing him of acting solely based on his preferences. "They have betrayed us. The NFP won the elections but Macron does not give a damn. But we are going to let him know that the streets are going to answer him fiercely," stated an activist.
The protests were spearheaded by the LFI party, part of the broader NFP alliance which includes Socialists, Communists, and Greens.
“Emmanuel Macron could have named Lucie Castets prime minister. He didn’t… because we intended to apply our program,” declared LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon to the crowd.
Following a disappointing performance by his centrist Ensemble coalition in the European parliamentary vote, Macron initiated a snap election. Although his coalition emerged second in France, the president maintains the exclusive authority to appoint the prime minister. Macron has described the appointment of Barnier as heralding a new "political era" for France.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
Demonstrators demanded Macron's stepping down, labeling his actions as a "power grab" and an act of "stealing the election."
Previously, Macron overlooked Lucie Castets, the nominee from the New Popular Front alliance, which garnered the most seats in the July parliamentary elections, and instead chose to appoint Michel Barnier. Barnier, from the center-right The Republicans party and former chief Brexit negotiator for the EU, succeeded Gabriel Attal who resigned post-election. Despite his party coming in fourth in the election with 48 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, Barnier was nominated by Macron on Wednesday.
The Interior Ministry reported that the protests drew approximately 110,000 participants nationwide, with about 26,000 in Paris. Contrarily, Mathilde Panot from the France Unbowed party claimed on X that the Parisian protests alone attracted 160,000 individuals and more than 300,000 demonstrators took part across the country.
Additional protests occurred in other major cities including Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Rennes.
Protesters in Paris waved banners proclaiming, "Democracy annulled, Macron dismissed" and "Stop the Macron coup!" as they marched from the Bastille to the Place de la Nation.
“We are fed up with Macron!" voiced one protester. “We all mobilized to vote for the NFP for very good reasons. We chose the ballot box route because we were always led to believe that it was the best way to express our demands, we voted and we were not heard.”
“If we do not react today, tomorrow France will wake up in the hands of a dictatorship,” another protester expressed.
Others criticized Macron for not following the traditional practice of selecting the prime minister from the largest party, accusing him of acting solely based on his preferences. "They have betrayed us. The NFP won the elections but Macron does not give a damn. But we are going to let him know that the streets are going to answer him fiercely," stated an activist.
The protests were spearheaded by the LFI party, part of the broader NFP alliance which includes Socialists, Communists, and Greens.
“Emmanuel Macron could have named Lucie Castets prime minister. He didn’t… because we intended to apply our program,” declared LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon to the crowd.
Following a disappointing performance by his centrist Ensemble coalition in the European parliamentary vote, Macron initiated a snap election. Although his coalition emerged second in France, the president maintains the exclusive authority to appoint the prime minister. Macron has described the appointment of Barnier as heralding a new "political era" for France.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
