PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to hold a referendum on key issues such as immigration, suggesting that giving the French a direct vote might help break the political deadlock.
Last week, Macron appointed the centre-right Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old former foreign minister who acted as the European Union's Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, seeking to move forward after June-July snap elections that resulted in a hung parliament.
But analysts say the country is set for a period of instability, with Barnier's hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on support from Le Pen's eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party, which is the largest party in the new National Assembly.
A left-wing coalition, which emerged as France's largest political bloc after the elections, although short of an overall majority, is also piling pressure on Barnier.
More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron's "power grab".
On Sunday, she urged Macron to conduct a referendum on key issues such as immigration, healthcare and security to give the people a direct vote.
The RN "will unreservedly support any approach aimed at giving people the power to decide directly", Le Pen said, speaking in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, the far-right's traditional stronghold.
"Emmanuel Macron himself, in the chaos he has created, has levers to keep our democracy live," she added.
To prevent the RN from having an absolute majority and forming a government, around 200 candidates stood down ahead of the final round of the snap legislative polls in July, sparking the far-right's outrage.
"If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government," she added.
Speaking to reporters, Le Pen, 56, also said she expected France to hold new legislative elections "within a year". "This is good because I think that France needs a clear majority," she said.
According to a poll released on Sunday, the French are largely satisfied with the appointment of Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post.
Fifty two per cent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of Barnier, according to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche. — AFP
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