France’s Le Pen urges Macron to hold referendum to break deadlock

PARIS — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to hold a referendum on key issues such as immigration, suggesting that giving the French a direct vote might help break the political deadlock.

Last week Macron appointed the centre-right Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old former foreign minister who acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, seeking to move forward after June-July snap elections that resulted in a hung parliament.

But analysts say the country is set for a period of instability, with Barnier’s hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on support from Le Pen’s eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN), which is the largest single party in the new national assembly.

The New Popular Front left-wing coalition, which emerged as France’s largest political bloc after the elections, although well short of an overall majority, is also piling pressure on Barnier.

More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron’s “power grab”.

‘Power to decide directly’ 

On Sunday, Le Pen urged Macron to conduct a referendum on key issues such as immigration, health care and security to give the people a direct vote.

The RN “will unreservedly support any approach aimed at giving people the power to decide directly”, Le Pen said, speaking in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, the far-right’s stronghold.

“Emmanuel Macron himself, in the chaos he has created, has levers to keep our democracy live,” she added.

To prevent the RN from having an absolute majority and forming a government, around 200 candidates stood down ahead of the final round of the snap polls in July to avoid splintering the anti-RN vote, sparking the far-right’s outrage.

Le Pen indicated she would watch Barnier’s every move.

“If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government,” she added.

Speaking to reporters, Le Pen, 56, also said she expected France to hold new legislative elections “within a year”.

“This is good because I think that France needs a clear majority,” she said.

The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion.

The alliance wanted Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist, to become prime minister, but Macron quashed that idea, arguing that she would not survive a confidence vote.

Barnier, who is working to form a government, held consultations with some of the country’s key political players over the weekend.

On Sunday, he met with former prime minister Edouard Philippe, who has said he would seek to succeed Macron in 2027, and Francois Bayrou, a veteran centrist.

According to a poll released on Sunday, the French are largely satisfied with Macron’s choice of prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post.

Fifty 2 per cent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of Barnier, according to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche.

By comparison, 53 per cent of respondents approved the nomination of Barnier’s predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming France’s youngest-ever premier at 34.

According to the poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62 per cent), open to dialogue (61 per cent) and likeable (60 per cent).

However, 74 per cent of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post.

Ifop polled 950 adults online on September 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points.