French far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Thursday (5) criticized President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to appoint Michel Barnier as the country’s prime minister, saying the move is a “negation of democracy.”
“The president has just decided to officially deny the results of the legislative elections that he himself called,” Mélenchon said in a speech broadcast live after the announcement was made.
Macron named Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister after weeks of protracted negotiations following an inconclusive snap election.
Barnier, 73, led the EU’s talks with the UK on its exit from the bloc between 2016 and 2021. Before that, the Conservative politician held positions in several French governments and was also an EU Commissioner.
Macron has considered a series of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of whom has garnered enough support to secure a stable government, and there is no guarantee that Barnier’s government will be able to push reforms through a hesitant parliament.
But at least the far-right National Union (RN), whose party is one of the largest in parliament after elections in early July, signaled on Thursday that it would not immediately reject Barnier if he met certain conditions.
“We do not believe for a second that there will be a majority in the National Assembly willing to accept such a denial of democracy. And I do not want to believe that the French people can accept being treated this way in the eyes of the world,” Mélenchon said.
Who is Jean-Luc Mélenchon, member of the new coalition in France?
This content was originally published in Left-wing leader says Macron “denied” election results by naming prime minister on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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