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.
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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), which is the largest single party in the new National Assembly.
The New Popular Front left-wing coalition, which emerged as France’s largest political bloc after the elections, although well short of an overall majority, is also piling pressure on Barnier.