Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“More than 100,000 people protested across France on Saturday against the appointment of the centre-right politician Michel Barnier as the new prime minister. His appointment follows an inconclusive election in which the left-wing bloc — the New Popular Front (NPF) — won the largest number of seats. The protests were called by trade unions and members of the NPF, who are furious that their own candidate for prime minister was rejected by President Emmanuel Macron. Mr Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, said he is open to forming a government with politicians across the political spectrum, including the left. The interior ministry said 110,000 protested nationwide on Saturday, including 26,000 in Paris, though one protest leader claimed the figure was 300,000. (09/08/24)