French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday said she played no part in the appointment of veteran conservative Michel Barnier as French PM, denying media reports that she assured President Emmanuel Macron her party would not back a no-confidence motion to topple the incoming premier.
After weeks of dithering, Macron on Thursday appointed 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 single 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", furious at his decision to bypass the left and appoint a conservative PM instead.
Read moreFrench protesters rage at ‘stolen election’ as Macron picks conservative Barnier for PM
Addressing reporters on Sunday, Le Pen, who leads RN lawmakers in parliament, denied media reports that she discussed Barnier's appointment in a phonecall with Macron on Thursday, adding: "I am not Macron's head of human resources".
Le Pen said her party would not be part of the new cabinet.
Referendum call
A two-time presidential runner-up, Le Pen urged Macron to conduct a referendum on key issues such as immigration, health care 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.
Le Pen also indicated she would watch Barnier's every move.
"If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government," she said, adding that 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.
The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion.
The alliance wanted Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist, to become prime minister, but Macron quashed that idea, arguing that she would not survive a confidence vote in the hung parliament.
Competent and likeable
According to a poll released on Sunday, a slim majority of the French are satisfied with the appointment of Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post.
Fifty two percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of Barnier, according to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche.
By comparison, 53 percent of respondents approved the nomination of Barnier's predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming France's youngest-ever premier at 34.
According to the poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62 percent), open to dialogue (61 percent) and likeable (60 percent).
However, 74 percent of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post.
Ifop polled 950 adults online on September 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
