The French parliament has taken an unprecedented decision after the president appointed an OM from a minority group.
A proposal to impeach French President Emmanuel Macron has cleared a major procedural hurdle in the country's parliament and will move to committee stage for consideration.
The New Popular Front (NPF) coalition, which won the most seats in the National Assembly in this summer's legislative elections but not enough for a majority, announced the move earlier this month after Macron rejected its candidate for prime minister, Lucie Castets.
Instead, he appointed former European Commissioner Michel Barnier of the right-wing Les Républicains party, which holds only 61 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly.
More than 80 NPF lawmakers signed the proposal, meeting the constitutional requirement of obtaining the backing of at least 10% of the 577 members of parliament. On Monday, the NPF petition was approved in a 12-10 vote in the Bureau of the National Assembly, the parliamentary governing body.
“Good news” Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the coalition's largest partner, France Unbowed (LFI), saying in X. “Rejecting the result of the universal vote will not be without consequences for Macron.”
The petition will now be passed on to the Legal Committee, where it must be examined. The Assembly is obliged to include it on the agenda within two weeks of the conclusion of the committee, whenever this occurs.
If the resolution is put on the parliamentary agenda, it would be the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic that the National Assembly would discuss the revocation of the mandate of the head of state, French media reported.
To remove Macron, two-thirds of the votes in the National Assembly, or 385 members, would be needed. However, the entire opposition together has only 364 seats. If it is somehow approved, the resolution would then go to the Senate, where it would need 232 votes.
In the second round of legislative elections in July, when it looked like the right-wing populist National Rally (RN) party might triumph, Macron forged a tactical alliance with the NPF. The NPF came out on top with 180 seats, followed by Macron’s bloc with 159, while the number of RN lawmakers was reduced to 142. The Republicans (LR), who had split over their support for RN, won only 39 seats.
The president initially chose to keep Gabriel Attal as prime minister on a technical basis, before appointing Michel Barnier of LR on 5 September.
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