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French Left plan street protests over Macron's PM block

Amid mounting political deadlock arising from a hung parliament, the radical-left France Insoumise party and the Parti communiste français, members of the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) coalition alongside the socialists and Greens, have called for demonstrations in September in protest at President Emmanuel Macron's refusal to appoint the NFP's candidate for prime minister.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

Some of France's left-wing leaders have backed protests against President Emmanuel Macron, after he refused to nominate a government led by the leftwing New Popular Front alliance (NFP), reports BBC News.

The four-party coalition won the most seats in last month's parliamentary elections and said its candidate, Paris civil servant Lucie Castets, should be named prime minister, even though they fell far short of a majority.

President Macron said France needed institutional stability and the left could not win a confidence vote that would come immediately from its opponents in parliament.

The biggest of the four left-wing parties, France Unbowed, called for a big demonstration on 7 September.

The Communist leader also backed a "big popular mobilisation" in the coming days, although the Socialists indicated that for now there was an urgent need for political discussion.

Mr Macron, whose centrist Ensemble alliance came second in the election, began new consultations with party leaders on Tuesday.

President Macron said France needed institutional stability and the left could not win a confidence vote that would come immediately from its opponents in parliament.

Mr Macron, whose centrist Ensemble alliance came second in the election, began new consultations with party leaders on Tuesday.

He appealed to three of the four left-wing parties - the Socialists, Greens and Communists - to work with "other political forces" to find a way out of the impasse, without mentioning the radical-left France Unbowed, which won the most seats of the four.

However, the three parties refused to take up his offer. Socialist leader Olivier Faure said he would not be an "accomplice in a parody of democracy". Marine Tondelier of the Greens said her party would not "continue this circus, this sham consultation".

Read more of this report from BBC News.