Macron Facing Impeachment Calls from Fellow French Left-Wingers

Far-left lawmakers in France have moved forward with impeachment proceedings against President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of undermining democracy by refusing to appoint their preferred prime minister after July’s snap legislative elections. The campaign cleared its first hurdle when the National Assembly’s office voted to declare the proceedings “admissible” for debate.

At a glance:

• Impeachment proceedings initiated by far-left lawmakers following Macron’s decision to bypass their prime ministerial pick.
• Impeachment vote passed narrowly in the National Assembly’s office by a 12 to 10 margin.
• The measure faces major obstacles as it needs two-thirds support in both houses of parliament to succeed.

The vote, which took place on Tuesday, marks the first time in the history of France’s Fifth Republic that an impeachment measure has reached such a stage. It passed by a narrow margin of 12 to 10, with the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, holding enough seats in the office to push the measure forward. This comes after Macron’s decision to appoint Michel Barnier, a center-right politician, as prime minister, despite the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition nominating Lucie Castets for the role.

LFI president Mathilde Panot celebrated the vote, stating that the result was “an unprecedented event in the history of the Fifth Republic.” Panot and Mélenchon first threatened impeachment last month, accusing Macron of bypassing the NFP, which had formed a voting alliance with Macron’s party to prevent Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally from gaining control.

Despite their coalition with Macron in July, the NFP was unable to secure a majority in the National Assembly, finishing behind Le Pen’s National Rally in total votes. Nevertheless, the far-left coalition has argued that their electoral success gave them a democratic mandate, which they claim Macron ignored by appointing Barnier instead of Castets. The Élysée Palace has been accused of conducting a “coup against democracy” as a result.

While the impeachment proceedings have passed this initial hurdle, the likelihood of success is slim. The next step involves presenting the measure to the Law Committee of the National Assembly before it can be debated in full parliament. Even then, for impeachment to proceed, a “High Court” would need to be convened in both the Senate and National Assembly, requiring one-tenth of parliamentarians’ approval. Following that, a two-thirds majority in both houses would be necessary to actually remove Macron from office.

The impeachment effort is expected to stall, as it is highly unlikely the far-left can gather enough support. The Socialist Party, a key member of the New Popular Front, has already stated they will not back the move, leaving the NFP well short of the 384 votes required. Without support from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, the impeachment campaign faces insurmountable odds.

Speaking on the impeachment proceedings, Le Pen criticized the far-left’s tactics. “In an attempt to make people forget its multiple compromises with Macron, the far-left is defending a procedure for impeaching the President of the Republic that has no chance of succeeding given the divisions on the left,” she said. Le Pen further accused the far-left of using the impeachment push as a distraction from their own negotiations with Macron in 2017 and again in 2022, arguing that both sides had plunged France into “collapse, disorder, and chaos.”

In the midst of the political upheaval, thousands of protesters took to the streets in opposition to Macron’s choice of Barnier as prime minister. Protestors, mostly left-wing groups, described Macron’s appointment of the center-right politician as a “coup de force,” further fueling allegations that the president has disregarded the results of the July elections by not selecting Castets as prime minister.

Although the impeachment has garnered attention, analysts note that Macron’s position is likely secure given the required parliamentary votes for removal, which seem out of reach for the left-wing coalition. Nonetheless, the impeachment process highlights the deepening political divisions in France as left-wing parties challenge Macron’s decisions on both procedural and democratic grounds.

The matter will be further debated in the National Assembly in the coming weeks, but with opposition parties refusing to unite behind the impeachment effort, it appears doomed to fail.