Thousands demonstrate against new French Prime Minister (VIDEOS)

Protesters called on the president to resign after he appointed Michel Barnier as head of government, rejecting the choice of the left.

Mass riots broke out in France on Saturday over President Emmanuel Macron's decision to appoint conservative politician Michel Barnier as prime minister, rejecting the choice of the largest parliamentary group.

Protesters demanded Macron’s resignation and accused him of “Seizure of power” And “steal the election.”

Last month, the French leader rejected the New Popular Front (NFP) candidate Lucie Castets for the post, even though the coalition won the most seats in the July parliamentary elections.

On Wednesday, Macron nominated Michel Barnier – a member of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party and former EU chief Brexit negotiator – as prime minister to replace Gabriel Attal, who resigned after the election.

Barnier's LR party came fourth in the legislative assembly vote, securing 48 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.

The Interior Ministry said that 110,000 people took part in the nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, including 26,000 in Paris. Mathilde Panot of the left-wing party “La France Inségénable” (LFI) wrote on X that 160,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Paris alone, while more than 300,000 people demonstrated across France.

Rallies also took place in Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Rennes and other major cities.

In Paris, crowds were seen marching with banners reading: “Democracy annulled, Macron sacked” And “Stop the Macron coup!” as they walked from the Bastille to the Place de la Nation in the east of the city.

“We’ve had enough of Macron!” said one demonstrator. “We all mobilised to vote for the NFP for very good reasons. We chose the ballot box route because we had always been told that this was the best way to express our demands. We voted, but we were not heard.”

“If we do not react today, France will wake up tomorrow in the hands of a dictatorship,” claimed another.

Some accused Macron of breaking the tradition of appointing the prime minister from the largest party and “exactly what he wanted”. “They betrayed us. The NFP won the elections, but Macron doesn't give a damn. But we will let him know that the street will respond to him fiercely,” said one activist.

Saturday's protests were organised by the LFI party, which is part of the NFP alliance along with the Socialists, Communists and Greens.

“Emmanuel Macron could have appointed Lucie Castets as Prime Minister. He did not do it … because we intended to implement our program,” This is what LFI chairman Jean-Luc Mélenchon said in a speech to the demonstrators.

Macron called for new elections after his centrist Ensemble faction performed poorly in the European elections. Although the bloc came second in the French election, the president has sole power to appoint the prime minister. Macron has claimed the new appointment marks the beginning of a new “political era” in France.