Barely forty-eight hours after Michel Barnier was appointed Prime Minister, the feeling of “malaise” persists, observes the newspaper The Time. The installation of a man of the right with the tacit approval of the extreme right, contrary to the spirit of the results of the ballot boxes on the evening of July 7, leaves resolutely “a funny taste”insists the Swiss daily. “Ideologically, the appointment of Michel Barnier gives an impression of total continuity, in line with a Macronism which has been moving to the right over the years, whether on economic or security issues”analyses journalist Paul Ackermann. With this decision, the tenant of the Élysée sent the message “of a left relegated to a role of powerless opposition while it had come out on top in terms of the number of deputies”.
“By choosing the option that poses the least threat to his past reforms, such as pension reform, which is nevertheless the target of a majority of voters, he gives the impression of scorning a large part of the population’s demands and is strengthening those who have fallen into anger and disengagement.”
Convinced to attend “a theft of the election result”several thousand people marched on Saturday September 7 in some 150 French localities, at the call of the New Popular Front groups (minus the Socialist Party), reports Irish radio and television. RTE. The left-wing coalition came out on top in the legislative elections with 193 deputies (around a hundred seats short of an absolute majority) “is more than furious”underlines the BBC, in London. “That Macron ignored the fact that their bloc came out on top, and then rejected their joint candidacy for Matignon”notes the British public media. “And the majority of French people seem to be on the same wavelength.”
Towards an autumn of discontent?
According to an Elabe poll widely reported by the foreign press, 74% of those questioned believe that the tenant of the Élysée “did not respect the result of the vote”. “The situation could lead to an autumn of demonstrations if Michel Barnier fails to build an executive of harmony”warns The Country, on the other side of the Pyrenees. According to the Madrid daily, classified as left-wing, Emmanuel Macron would now wait for the dislocation of the Socialist Party, crossed by profound strategic divergences, before bringing its right wing into the government. But for the moment, indicates the journalist Daniel Verdú, the First Secretary Olivier Faure “among the most vindictive voices about Macron” and assures that his parliamentary group will vote for censure.
[…] - Courrier international
