Macron ignores left winning most seats, installs far right-backed Barnier as prime minister

French President Emmanuel Macron has ignored that the Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) left-wing alliance won the most seats in France’s snap legislative election in early July – and instead installed infamous Michel Barnier.

Barnier’s party won just 7% of the vote

He has instead appointed a prime minister from the right-wing Les Républicains (The Republicans). This party won just 39 seats (or 7% of the vote). The New Popular Front, meanwhile, won 182 seats (or 32% of the vote).

Barnier, the new appointed prime minister, will have the support of Macron’s centrist Ensemble party. It won 168 seats. But they are still short of the 289 needed for a majority.

So Barnier depends on backing from the far right Rassemblement National (National Rally) of Marine Le Pen. The National Rally came third on 143 seats. Still, Le Pen exercised veto power over who would be the new prime minister in talks with Macron. Macron and her later agreed on the appointment of Barnier.

Former investment banker at Rothschild and Co, Macron’s choice to make the far right kingmakers demonstrates so-called centrists will opt for fascism to keep the left out.

He did so despite left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon offering to support the New Popular Front’s joint candidate, Lucie Castets, with the exclusion of any elected legislator from his party, La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France), from becoming ministers. Even though Unsubmissive France won the most seats in the New Popular Front alliance.

“Stolen” election

In response to Macron’s anti-democratic approach, Melenchon has accused him of being an “autocrat”. And following the appointment of Barnier, Melenchon said “the election was stolen”. He also said:

The president of the Republic has just officially denied the result of the legislative elections that he himself had called

Macron has delivered policies such as abolishing a wealth tax while at the same time raising the retirement age and slashing benefits. During the election, Macron pledged to keep the far right out of power. Many people voted centrist or left to stop the National Rally winning seats.

The New Popular Front have committed to a no confidence vote in Barnier. Like right-wing centrists in the UK, Barnier converges with the far right in his anti-immigration rhetoric. He previously called for a freeze in immigration for three to five years.

On social media, Barnier was branded “condescending and out-of-touch” for referring to the working class as “people from below” in his first address as prime minister.

Melenchon called for nationwide protests against the appointment of Barnier in the “most powerful mobilisation possible”.

Featured image via DW News – YouTube and 60 Minutes – YouTube