A proposal that has generated little enthusiasm, even in his own camp. Former rebellious MP for the North Adrien Quatennens has drawn indignant reactions by proposing “a big march” on Matignon to impose a left-wing Prime Minister. “Alert! Macron wants to steal our victory and is maneuvering to block the implementation of the #NouveauFrontPopulaire program. The only sovereign that the Republic knows, the people, must make him give in. Why not a big popular march towards Matignon?”, wrote the former elected official on the social network X this Tuesday.
Even LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard had to clarify on Wednesday that this was not a call from his movement. LFI “is not calling for a march on Matignon, it says that the result must be respected,” declared the re-elected MP in Bouches-du-Rhône on LCI. The New Popular Front came out on top on Sunday at the end of the second round of the legislative elections, but it is far from an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
“What Adrien Quatennens is saying, and what I share, is that there must be the conditions for popular mobilisation to say ‘Mr President of the Republic, you must respect the result of the legislative elections'”, he explained, while the New Popular Front “solemnly” warned Emmanuel Macron against keeping Gabriel Attal at Matignon.
Adrien Quatennens, close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had withdrawn his candidacy for the legislative elections, contested because of his conviction for domestic violence. This is what the socialist president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, recalled on TF1. He “was not even able to run again so he has no legitimacy. Calling for marches is completely irresponsible,” she judged.
“Factual” remarks for Darmanin and Le Pen
On the presidential camp side, reactions have also multiplied. According to Aurore Bergé, the former deputy “no longer has any legitimacy to express himself, he is no longer a deputy, he is no longer an elected official of the Republic”. “It is unbearable to hear this, everyone should denounce these remarks, we do not march on Matignon”, the Macronist elected official from Yvelines was indignant on France 2.
For his part, MoDem president François Bayrou considered Adrien Quatennens’ comments on BFMTV as “proof that this clan has no place in the government”, while Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin denounced “factious” comments on CNews.
Marine Le Pen also pointed out the “factious attitude” of those who “call for taking Matignon by force”. “It’s their assault on the Capitol”, she said when arriving at the National Assembly with the deputies of the National Rally, in reference to the invasion of the seat of the American Congress, in January 2021, by supporters of Donald Trump who contested the results of the presidential election. Marine Le Pen had already denounced the day before on X “these unacceptable calls for insurrection”.