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[text/guardian network liu chenghui] "macron step down!" "france is collapsing!" after french president macron appointed barnier as the new prime minister, protests broke out in many places across france on september 7 local time at the call of the left-wing parties, with 110,000 people participating in the march. the demonstrators opposed the center-right conservative politician taking over the position of prime minister and were angry that the left-wing candidate failed to be appointed. they bombarded macron for refusing to accept defeat and "forcibly" making the appointment decision. an earlier poll showed that 74% of french respondents believed that macron did not respect the election results, and 55% believed that he "stole" the election results.

according to reports from afp, reuters and other foreign media, according to the organizers of the demonstration, leaders of left-wing political parties, trade unions, student groups and a large number of left-wing supporters held a large-scale march across france on the 7th, with 160,000 people participating in paris and 300,000 people participating in france. however, statistics released by the french ministry of the interior on the evening of the 7th showed that a total of 110,000 people participated in the demonstration in france. french police said that the number of people participating in the march in the capital paris reached about 26,000.

on september 7, 2024, demonstrators took to the streets in paris, marseille and other places across france to protest macron's appointment of barnier as the new prime minister. reuters

"demonstrators gathered in the center of paris in the autumn sun, filled with anger and despair." france 24 tv reported that at around 2 pm on the 7th, a paris demonstration march set out from the bastille and headed towards the place de la nation. protesters held up flags and placards, condemning the "stolen election" and "macron's seizure of power."

jean-luc mélenchon, leader of the french left-wing party and the third largest party in the national assembly, "france unbowed", also participated in the demonstration and said, "the french are resisting and have begun the revolution", "there will be no pause, no truce, i call for a long struggle."

"the election result is not respected. people are tired of it. people want respect," said a 39-year-old demonstrator taking part in a march in paris, calling macron a "monarchist" and a "running dog of the bankers."

"macron should leave forever and show us some respect," she said, adding that she would like to see macron impeached.

on september 7, french protesters held up signs demanding macron's resignation. afp

in addition to paris, demonstrations also broke out in nantes in the west of france, nice and marseille in the south, and strasbourg in the east. among them, there were more than 8,000 demonstrators in nantes. a right-wing voter in haute-garonne said in an interview that they could not accept barnier as prime minister.

"the fifth republic (in france) is collapsing," said 21-year-old protester berniol. "as long as macron is in power, voting is meaningless."

60 days after the snap parliamentary elections, macron on the 5th refused to accept the candidate nominated by the new popular front (nfp), the largest left-wing coalition in the new parliament, and instead appointed barnier of the right-wing republican party (lr) as the new french prime minister. at 73 years old, he succeeded attal, the youngest prime minister in france, at 35 years old, becoming the oldest french prime minister to take office. in the eyes of left-wing politicians, barnier will promote large-scale spending cuts and take a tougher stance on immigration.

file photo of baniya. afp

according to a survey released by polling agency elabe on friday, 74% of french respondents believed that president macron did not respect the election results, and 55% blasted him for "stealing" the election results.

in an interview with france 1 tv on the 7th, jordan bardella, chairman of the national rally, said that he would not participate in any action to overthrow barnier's future government because it would throw "democracy" into chaos, but he had not had "any direct dialogue" with barnier.

"i will judge the new prime minister on the facts, but that does not mean there won't be a vote of no confidence during his term." he also warned: "if barnier is just the new face of 'macronism' and continues to implement the policies promoted by macron - which were severely punished in the elections last july - then this government will fall."

"unbowed france" mp loman posted the lyrics of the french national anthem "la marseillaise" on social media x and called on more people to participate in the protest. another mp of the party, aubry, condemned macron's "robbery". "i am really angry, but i will not lose my temper." he said, "i believe that i am not the only one who is angry, but millions of french people who voted in the parliamentary elections are also angry." he also said, "collective resignation may be the best gift we have prepared for macron."

after macron announced the appointment decision on the 5th, jean-luc mélenchon, leader of "unbowed france", immediately delivered a video speech, strongly criticizing macron for stealing democracy.

the leader of the left-wing green party, dondelier, said that green party mps would not join the barnier cabinet. green party mp luca said: "we must take an extremely firm attitude towards the president. since the dissolution of parliament, he has performed very badly in terms of institutions and democracy."

facing the sniping of left-wing figures, barnier sent a signal of cooperation to the left on the 6th. he said that he hoped that the future government would be composed of conservatives, members of macron's camp and some left-wing figures.

on the same day that the large-scale demonstrations broke out, barnier launched his first trip after taking office on the afternoon of the 7th. he chose to visit a public hospital in paris and met with medical staff. there he emphasized the importance of public services, but told medical staff that his government "cannot create miracles."

barnier indicated he was prepared to stick with some of macron’s widely unpopular reforms, which could include taking political risks, and said he was not prepared to scrap a plan to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62.

"we must not question this law, which was passed with great difficulty." but he added that he was prepared to adjust the policy to better protect the "most vulnerable groups."

reuters analysis pointed out that barnier faces the arduous task of trying to push through reforms and the 2025 budget through a suspended parliament. at the same time, since the new popular front and the national alliance jointly hold a majority of seats, if they decide to cooperate, they may pass a vote of no confidence against barnier, thereby removing him from office.

this article is an exclusive article of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.