The French public is growing increasingly dissatisfied with President Emmanuel Macron, according to a recent Ipsos survey conducted for Le Monde newspaper between July 26th and August 1st. The poll revealed that 51 per cent of the French population are in favour of Macron stepping down from his position as president. In addition to this, 53 per cent of those surveyed expressed their dissatisfaction with Macron’s leadership, while only 15 per cent were satisfied and 32 per cent remained neutral.
This comes amidst ongoing political turmoil in France, where the country has been left without a proper government for nearly two months. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is currently serving as a caretaker with no power to enact new legislation. The situation is further complicated by Macron’s refusal to form a government partnership with the New Popular Front (NFP), despite partnering with them in last month’s election gambit, aimed at preventing Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) from winning the second round of snap legislative elections.
The leftist NFP has since urged Macron to appoint Lucie Castets as his next prime minister, a socialist economist and former French deep state bureaucrat who has never been elected or run for any post in recent elections. This has led to calls for impeachment from the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, often compared to America’s Bernie Sanders or Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn. The LFI argues that it must “defend democracy against the president’s authoritarian leanings.
However, it remains unclear whether Mélenchon will be able to gather enough support from other parties to impeach Macron, as a two-thirds majority of both the National Assembly and Senate is required to remove a sitting president. In such a scenario, Mélenchon may need to seek support from Le Pen’s faction in order to achieve the necessary votes.
The French Constitution provides little clarity on the process for impeachment or the criteria needed to trigger it. Under Article 68, the constitution states that a president may be removed “in the event of a breach of duty manifestly incompatible with the exercise of his mandate.” Prior to 2007, the only grounds for impeachment was “high treason.” As France continues to grapple with its political uncertainty and growing dissatisfaction with Macron’s leadership, it remains to be seen how this ongoing crisis will resolve itself.