PARIS (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday, responding to a call from a leader of a far-left party who called the president’s appointment of conservative new Prime Minister Michel Barnier a power grab.
The protests pose a direct challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass a prime minister from the far-left bloc after a deeply divided parliamentary election in July. The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, sees Barnier’s conservative background as a rejection of the will of the electorate, further exacerbating the already charged political atmosphere in the EU’s second economy.
Authorities expected tens of thousands of protesters. In Paris, demonstrators gathered at Place de la Bastille and tensions rose as police prepared for possible clashes. Other gatherings in 150 locations across the country included the southwestern towns of Montauban and Auch.
In Montauban, protesters condemned Barnier’s appointment as a denial of democracy, echoing the fiery rhetoric of France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon in recent days. “The people have been ignored,” a speaker at the rally told the crowd.
As Barnier met with healthcare workers at the Necker hospital in Paris for his first official visit as prime minister, opponents say the unrest in the streets is affecting the future of his government.
Barnier, who is in the process of forming his cabinet, said he wanted to listen to the public’s concerns, particularly about France’s public services.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right Rally National (RN), warned that Barnier was also being “surveilled” by his party. Speaking at the Chalons-en-Champagne trade fair, Bardella called on the prime minister to include his party’s priorities in his agenda, particularly on national security and immigration.
Barnier, 73, is the oldest of the 26 prime ministers who have served France’s modern Fifth Republic. He replaces the youngest, Gabriel Attal, who was 34 when he was appointed eight months ago.
Attal was forced to resign after Macron’s centrist government suffered a major defeat in snap parliamentary elections in July. Macron called the elections in the hope of securing a clear mandate, but instead they resulted in a hung parliament, leaving the president without a legislative majority and throwing his government into turmoil.
Attal was also France’s first openly gay prime minister. French media and some of Macron’s opponents, who immediately criticized Barnier’s appointment, soon discovered that the new prime minister, when he was in parliament in 1981, had been among 155 lawmakers who voted against a law decriminalizing homosexuality.
Although Barnier brings five decades of political experience, his appointment offers no guarantee of resolving the crisis. His challenge is immense: forming a government that can navigate a fragmented National Assembly, where the political spectrum is deeply divided between the far left, the far right and Macron’s weakened centrist bloc. Far from providing clarity, the early poll results have only served to destabilize both the country and Macron’s grip on power.
The president’s decision to turn to Barnier, a seasoned political operator with close ties to the European Union, is seen as an attempt to bring stability to French politics. And Barnier, who rose to prominence as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has faced daunting tasks before.
Critics say Macron, who was elected on a promise of a break with the old political order, is now struggling with the instability he once promised to overcome.
