Massive protest against new government in France

Mass protests erupted across France on Saturday against President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of a centrist government. Thousands marched in Paris to denounce President Emmanuel Macron and his new conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier, accusing them of ignoring the results of parliamentary elections in July.

France is deadlocked by a hung parliament made up of three equal blocs – the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, the center-led Renaissance Party of Macron and the right-wing National Rally. Although no party got a majority, the NFP coalition bagged the most seats. It is for this reason that the NFP aspired to the post of Prime Minister.

However, Macron made a mockery of democracy by refusing to appoint Lucie Costets, who was chosen from the NFP, as prime minister. Earlier this month, Macron nominated Barnier from the center-right Republican Party for the post of prime minister. Barnier failed to quickly form a government. When he finally announced a new cabinet on Saturday, the only left-wing politician left as justice minister was Didier Migoud.

Most of the rest are centrists and moderates. Several placards appeared on the streets on Saturday, mocking the left-wing coalition’s election victory and calling it an act of ‘disrespect’ to democracy as a whole. He called for the president’s resignation, denouncing the ‘rule of idiots’ and ‘impeach Macron’. Some wearing Macron masks accused the French president of trying to become an ’emperor’ by staging a ‘coup’ with Barnier’s appointment.

‘We are here to reiterate that we will never surrender, we will never accept the anti-democratic authority of the president of the republic,’ said one demonstrator. ‘There is no legitimacy in Macron’s power… the French people have voted. Another protester explained, “Macron has appointed a man from the alliance with the lowest number of votes, even though it is clear that the NFP is in the lead.

“Organizers say up to 40,000 people took part in the largest demonstration in Paris on Saturday. Protests also took place in Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Bordeaux, Angouleme and Strasbourg. In addition to public unrest, France’s new government faces a number of problems, from streamlining the tax system to resolving the budget crisis. Many experts warn that implementing laws through a divided parliament will be a major challenge.