By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday in response to a call from a far-left party leader who criticized as a power grab the President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of a conservative as the new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier.
The protesters are challenging the decision of the President to bypass a Prime Minister from the far-left bloc following a deeply dividing legislative election in July.
The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, views Barnier’s conservative background as rejecting the electorate’s will, further intensifying the EU’s second-largest economy’s already charged political atmosphere.
Authorities expected tens of thousands of demonstrators. In Paris, protesters gathered at Place de la Bastille, and tensions ran high as police prepared for potential clashes.
Other rallies were planned in 150 points nationwide, including the southwestern cities of Montauban and Auch.
In Montauban, the demonstrators denounced Barnier’s appointment as denying democracy, echoing France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon’s fiery rhetoric from recent days. “The people have been ignored,” a rally speaker told the crowd.
While Barnier was meeting with health care workers at Paris’ Necker Hospital for his first official visit as Prime Minister, opponents say the unrest in the streets is shaping his government’s future.
Barnier, who is working to assemble his Cabinet, expressed a commitment to listening to public concerns, particularly about France’s public services.
73, Barnier is the oldest of the 26 Prime Ministers that have served modern France’s Fifth Republic.
He replaces the youngest, Gabriel Attal, who was 34 when he was appointed just eight months ago.
Attal was forced to resign after Macron’s centrist government suffered a major defeat in the July snap legislative elections.
Macron called the election in the hopes of securing a clear mandate, but it instead produced a hung parliament, leaving the President without a legislative majority and plunging his administration into turmoil.
