Le Pen
denies playing a part in Macron's choice of Barnier as French PM
French
far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday said she played no part in the
appointment of veteran conservative Michel Barnier as French PM, denying media
reports that she assured President Emmanuel Macron her party would not back a
no-confidence motion to topple the incoming premier.
Issued on: 08/09/2024 - 14:52
Modified: 08/09/2024 - 14:54
By:
FRANCE 24
After weeks of dithering, Macron on Thursday appointed
Barnier, a 73-year-old former foreign minister who acted as the European
Union's Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, seeking to move forward after
June-July snap elections that resulted in a hung parliament.
But analysts say the country is set for a period of
instability, with Barnier's hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on
support from Le Pen's eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party,
which is the largest single party in the new National Assembly.
A left-wing coalition, which emerged as France's largest
political bloc after the elections, although short of an overall majority, is
also piling pressure on Barnier.
More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across
France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron's
"power grab", furious at his decision to bypass the left and appoint
a conservative PM instead.
Addressing reporters on Sunday, Le Pen, who leads RN
lawmakers in parliament, denied media reports that she discussed Barnier's
appointment in a phonecall with Macron on Thursday, adding: "I am not
Macron's head of human resources".
Le Pen said her party would not be part of the new cabinet.
Referendum
call
A two-time presidential runner-up, Le Pen urged Macron to
conduct a referendum on key issues such as immigration, health care and
security to give the people a direct vote.
The RN "will unreservedly support any approach aimed at
giving people the power to decide directly", Le Pen said, speaking in the
northern town of Henin-Beaumont, the far-right's traditional stronghold.
"Emmanuel Macron himself, in the chaos he has created,
has levers to keep our democracy live," she added.
Le Pen also indicated she would watch Barnier's every move.
"If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again
forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government,"
she said, adding that she expected France to hold new legislative elections
"within a year".
"This is good because I think that France needs a clear
majority," she said.
The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier
with a no-confidence motion.
The alliance wanted Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist,
to become prime minister, but Macron quashed that idea, arguing that she would
not survive a confidence vote in the hung parliament.
Competent
and likeable
According to a poll released on Sunday, a slim majority of
the French are satisfied with the appointment of Barnier as prime minister, but
believe he will not last long in his new post.
Fifty two percent of people polled said they were satisfied
with the appointment of Barnier, according to the Ifop poll for the Journal du
Dimanche.
By comparison, 53 percent of respondents approved the
nomination of Barnier's predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime
minister in early January, becoming France's youngest-ever premier at 34.
According to the poll, a majority of respondents see
Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as
competent (62 percent), open to dialogue (61 percent) and likeable (60
percent).
However, 74 percent of respondents polled believe he would
not last long in the post.
Ifop polled 950 adults online on September 5-6. The margin
of error was up to 3.1 points.
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