French election winners accuse Macron of ‘non-democratic coup’
France’s left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) has expressed its displeasure with President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to rule out nominating its candidate for prime minister after the alliance secured the most seats in the National Assembly following the July election.
Although the alliance won the most seats in the voting, it failed to secure enough to govern, forcing Macron to enter negotiations in order to appoint a new prime minister and form a new government.
The NPF had nominated Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist and director of financial affairs at Paris City Hall, as its candidate for prime minister. The NPF is a broad left-wing electoral alliance made up of France Unbowed (LFI), the Socialist Party, the Greens, the Communist Party, and several smaller parties.
Macron, meanwhile, rejected the candidacy of Castets, claiming that “my responsibility is that the country is not blocked or weakened,” the president said in a statement on Monday. He added that a left-wing government would pose a threat to “institutional stability.”
The LFI labeled Macron’s move an “anti-democratic coup,” while its leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon, called for a “rapid and firm response.”
The secretary-general of the Greens, Marine Tondelier, said Macron’s decision reflects “dangerous democratic irresponsibility,” adding that the head of state is ignoring the election results.
The LFI’s parliamentary group leader, Mathilde Panot, spoke out against “monopolization of power by one man,” urging to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president if he “persists in his denial.”
The NPF was formed for the parliamentary elections, largely as a bid to keep Marine Le Pen’s National Rally out of power. The move paid off as the alliance took 188 seats in the parliament, ahead of Macron’s centrist alliance at 161, and National Rally at 142.
