Leaders of the leftist France Insoumise (LFI) party have warned that they might start impeachment proceedings against President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of orchestrating an “institutional coup against democracy” with his choice of the next prime minister.
With the ‘Olympic truce’ now ended in France, debates over the selection of the next prime minister have intensified.
An article published on August 18 in La Tribune du dimanche claims, “Emmanuel Macron is reportedly poised to appoint a new head of government without considering the outcome of the recent legislative elections,” condemning it as an “institutional coup against democracy.”
In response to this “abuse of power,” the leaders of the far-left party are calling for the activation of Article 68 of the Constitution, which stipulates impeachment of the head of state in cases of a “breach of duty clearly incompatible with the performance of their mandate.”
Following extended negotiations, the representatives of the New Popular Front (NFP) left-wing coalition, which emerged as the leading group in the early legislative elections on July 7 with 193 MPs—short of the 289 needed for an absolute majority—agreed on July 23 to nominate Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old senior civil servant previously unknown to the public, as prime minister.
Macron rejected this proposal just hours before the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony.
He told France, “The issue isn’t about a specific name. The real question is how to secure a majority in the Assembly that will enable a French government to implement reforms, pass a budget, and advance the country.”
The reality is that securing this majority remains unattainable at present, and the various candidates being considered for the position, such as Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France region and a member of the Les Républicains (LR) party, or Bernard Cazeneuve, the Socialist who served as prime minister under President François Hollande, are far from achieving consensus.
To try to change the dynamics, Macron is scheduled to meet with the leaders of the parties and political groups represented in parliament on Friday, August 23.
“The appointment of a prime minister will be determined based on these consultations and their outcomes,” the Élysée stated in a press release on August 16.
To build a governing majority, the French president may need to attempt to divide the NFP coalition and attract the more cautious socialists wary of LFI’s aggressive tactics. However, leaders of LFI, the Socialist Party (PS), the Communist Party (PC), and the Greens appear to be successfully preserving their unity, despite clear strategic differences.
Olivier Faure, the First Secretary of the PS, emphasized that the petition calling for Macron’s impeachment was signed solely by LFI leaders, representing only their movement. He also pointed out that impeachment would be ‘impracticable’ because it would require a two-thirds majority in both parliament and the Senate.
Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Ecologists, told AFP that she was dedicating all her efforts to ensuring Lucie Castets is appointed as soon as possible.
A week ago, Castets sent a letter to all French MPs, excluding those from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and their allies, informing them of her intention to unite individuals beyond the NFP ranks.
