Thousands protest in France over Macron's choice of PM
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier (photo: Getty Images)
More than 100,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday, protesting against the appointment of center-right politician Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister, reports BBC.
Barnier's appointment came after inconclusive elections, in which the left-wing bloc - New Popular Front (NPF) - secured the most seats.
The protests were organized by unions and NPF members, who are enraged that their candidate for Prime Minister, Lucie Castets, was rejected by President Emmanuel Macron. Macron argued that Castets had no chance of surviving a confidence vote in the National Assembly.
Mr Barnier, the EU's former Brexit negotiator, has stated that he is open to forming a government with politicians from across the political spectrum, including leftists. He may be able to survive the confidence vote because the far-right, which also secured a significant number of seats, has indicated that it will not automatically vote against him.
The interior ministry said 110,000 protested nationwide on Saturday, including 26,000 in Paris, though one protest leader claimed the figure was 300,000.
In Paris, demonstrators rallied under the slogan For democracy, stop Macron’s coup.
On September 5, Macron asked Barnier to form a unified government that would serve the country and the French people.
According to Le Figaro, Barnier holds domestic policy views that align closely with the far-right. For instance, he has called for a moratorium on immigration and argued that France should reclaim its legal sovereignty and not be subject to the decisions of the European Union Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
