Emmanuel Macron sparks political chaos leaving France with 'zombie' government by refusing to appoint left wing PM
President Macron has caused 'outrage' among left wing French politicians
Getty
President Emmanuel Macron has been met with outrage from left-wing politicians after he slammed the door on a potential leftist government.
France's Socialists and Greens said they will not participate in further talks with President Macron to find a way out of political deadlock calling on their supporters to hold peaceful protests instead.
The French President was seemingly back on square one as the country is facing a hung parliament in which each of the three almost equal groupings - the left, Macron's centrist bloc and the hard-right National Rally - have ruled out forming a coalition.
The LFI, a hard-left party within the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance that won the most seats in a snap parliamentary election this summer, called for a mass protest against Macron on September 7.
President Macron has caused 'outrage' among left wing French politicians
Getty
Green party chief Marine Tondelier said: "This election is being stolen from us. We're not going to continue these sham consultations with a president who doesn't listen anyway ... and is obsessed with keeping control. He's not looking for a solution, he's trying to obstruct it."
Socialist Party president Olivier Faure told France 2 television he would not engage in what he called a "parody of democracy" now the prospect of a leftist-led government was off the table.
NFP leaders have repeatedly asserted that France's next prime minister should come from their ranks, but Macron has ignored their claims.
Macron, a pro-business centre-right politician, thinks the balance of power lies more with the centre or centre-right.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Green party chief Marine Tondelier
Getty
Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party
Getty
François Ruffin, a lawmaker with France Unbowed, said in a social media post that the "people must remove Macron in the name of democracy." He added: "Chaos and instability are his fault."
Pierre Jouvet, the Socialist Party's secretary-general, said that its supporters don't plan to take part in protests, and hinted that they were open to further discussions with the president.
Jouvet said in an interview with France Info. “We are not calling for people to take to the streets at this stage...the emergency is in the debate, in the political discussion, even if Emmanuel Macron's decision worries us deeply."
It comes as Paris prepares to host the Paralympic Games with the opening ceremony set to begin later this evening.
Marine Le Pen's party suffered disappointing results in the last election
REUTERSPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will head to Paris for the opening ceremony on Wednesday night and meet and have talks with President Emmanuel Macron.
Former National Assembly president Marine Le Pen suggested Macron could call a referendum to chart a path out of the chaos, and said she was opposed to a so-called "technical" government of apolitical technocrats, saying "there are only political governments hiding behind technical names."
You may like
