More than 300,000 thousands people have signed the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) petition calling for French President Emmanuel Macron’s impeachment, the party has announced.
The petition was designed to put pressure on French lawmakers to launch the impeachment process against Macron and LFI revealed the number of signatories on September 16.
“By signing this petition, we ask the deputies and senators to vote in favour of the process to allow the return to a true democracy where the choices of the people are finally respected,” according to the petition’s website.
Plus de 300 000 signatures pour la destitution de Macron.
Continuez à faire signer la pétition autour de vous.
Rendez-vous dans la rue ce samedi 21 septembre, pour demander la destitution de Macron ! #MacronDestitution pic.twitter.com/USpVXKoP0c
— La France insoumise (@FranceInsoumise) September 16, 2024
The party has accused the President of an “authoritarian drift” by “refusing to recognise the result of the legislative elections and blocking the implementation of any programme other than his own”.
Following the national elections in June, Macron had refused to appoint left-wing candidate Lucie Castets as Prime Minister even though the left-wing coalition won the most seats in parliament.
Instead, the President opted for the right-wing candidate and former Brexit negotiator for the EU Michel Barnier from the Republican Party.
The impeachment process allowed by Article 68 of the French Constitution must go through its first step on September 17.
The highest collegial authority of the National Assembly, the executive Bureau, is tasked to make a ruling on the admissibility of the proposed impeachment procedure.
The Bureau could decide to trigger the procedure as the left-wing alliance holds the majority there with 12 out of 22 seats.
There is said to be some divergence among the left-wing MPs and the Socialists have in the past rejected such a proposition.
On August 18, Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, hasd distanced himself from the threat, emphasising the initiative was being pushed by LFI alone.
At the Fête de l’Humanité festival on September 14, where left-wing leaders, activists and prominent figures from France and around the world gathered, LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on his allies not to block the procedure.
“We call on our NFP [left-wing coalition] allies to vote to send it [impeachment process] to the Law Commission. The only battles we are sure to lose are the ones we don’t fight,” he said.
The hard-left party also urged supporters to join the call made by youth branches of trade unions to protest against the President on September 21.
According to the French law Macron could “only be removed in the event of a failure to fulfil his duties that is clearly incompatible with the exercise of his office”.
If initiated, the impeachment process would aim to determine whether such a failure had occurred.
