Paris: The National Assembly of France, the parliament’s lower house, will consider a resolution on the impeachment of President Emmanuel Macron, put forward by the left-wing La France Insoumise group on Tuesday.
The party came forward with this initiative after the French leader ruled out the participation of the left in the government being formed, despite the victory of their coalition in the parliamentary elections. The proposal was put forward in accordance with Article 68 of the French constitution, which provides for the possibility of removing the president from power in the event of his violation of his duties. The resolution was supported by 81 parliamentarians from the left-wing New Popular Front bloc, including 72 lawmakers from La France Insoumise, as well as the Greens and a number of other parliament members from the Left Democrats and Republicans group.
The Bureau, the highest collegial body of the lower house of parliament, where 12 of the 22 members currently represent the left parties, must decide on the admissibility of the resolution. At the same time, the Socialist Party refused to support the initiative of the party founded by Jean-Luc Melenchon. Former President and current National Assembly member Francois Hollande and the leader of the Greens Marine Tondelier publicly spoke out against it.
If this stage is passed, the text of the resolution must then be approved by the legislative commission of 73 lawmakers, where the left hold only 24 seats, after which two-thirds of the National Assembly (385 parliamentarians) must vote for it within two weeks. The last two stages must also be passed in the upper house of parliament, the Senate, where the left do not have a majority. However, if the text is approved by the Senate (232 votes), both chambers will meet in a joint session, and the resolution must be supported by 617 of the 925 parliamentarians of both chambers. In this case, the president’s resignation is immediate.
In 2016, the Bureau of the National Assembly declared a similar resolution on the impeachment of Francois Hollande unacceptable.
In the snap parliamentary elections in July, the left-wing bloc won the majority of votes, receiving 182 seats out of 577. Macron’s presidential coalition Together for the Republic came in second, receiving 168 seats in the National Assembly. The right-wing National Rally party with its allies from the Republican Party became the third force in parliament with 143 mandates. Thus, no political force received a majority to form a new government. The composition of the new French cabinet under Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to be announced this week.
