French far-left party threatens presidential impeachment over prime minister appointment

By Anadolu staff

France's far-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, or LFI) announced on Monday that it will pursue all constitutional means to impeach President Emmanuel Macron if he fails to appoint their joint candidate as prime minister, following recent election results in which the leftist alliance secured the most seats.

In a statement published in La Tribune, LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, party coordinator Manuel Bompard, and LFI Deputy Group President Mathilde Panot criticized Macron for "ignoring the political consequences" of the June 9 snap general elections, in which he lost once again in the European Parliament elections.

The party accused Macron of committing a "coup against democracy" by disregarding the New Popular Front's (NFP) candidate for prime minister, who won the elections.

The LFI cited Article 68 of the French Constitution, which deals with presidential impeachment, as the basis for their threat. However, the Socialist Party, the NFP's second-largest party, did not support the LFI's approach.

Secretary Olivier Faure stated on X that the "threat" did not reflect the views of all NFP parties and argued that impeachment was "not feasible." He suggested that a motion of no confidence would be a more suitable response to Macron's appointment of a prime minister.

- Political Stalemate

Political activity in France was largely suspended in late July due to the Olympic Games. After weeks of internal struggle, the left-wing alliance NFP proposed Lucie Castets as the next prime minister on July 23. President Macron, however, has indicated he will not make a decision until mid-August, after the conclusion of the games. Macron has faced criticism for delaying the process and causing instability by initially rejecting Gabriel Attal's resignation on July 8, only to accept it on July 16.

The NFP won more than 180 seats in the lower house of parliament, while Macron’s centrist alliance, Together for the Republic, secured over 160 seats. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party obtained more than 140 seats. With the National Assembly comprising 577 seats, no single alliance achieved an absolute majority.

Following the RN's significant victory in the European Parliament elections on June 9, Macron dissolved parliament and called for early elections.