Is the threat of impeachment against Emmanuel Macron really “credible”, as LFI MP Manuel Bompard claims?

The leaders of La France Insoumise have brandished the threat of impeachment proceedings against the head of state if he does not appoint Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate, to Matignon. The legal legitimacy of such an approach is questionable, but the lack of support from LFI’s partners seems to bury this possibility.

An ultimatum followed by effect? ​​The threat of impeachment of Emmanuel Macron “is a credible possibility” stated on Monday, August 19 on RTL, Manuel Bompard, coordinator of La France insoumise (LFI). In the event of refusal to appoint Lucie Castets, the candidate of the New Popular Front (NFP) to Matignon, “We will use the constitutional means at our disposal to overthrow you”also launched the LFI coordinator, who must meet Emmanuel Macron on August 23, with the other leaders of the NFP.

“It’s a warning” because “we prefer [qu’Emmanuel Macron] appoints Lucie Castets as head of the government”also specified the deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône. A “solemn warning” even, facing the “autocratic drift of the head of state”added her colleague Aurélie Trouvé on TF1 Monday morning, when another rebel, Alma Dufour, defended on LCI a “weighed threat” For “to kick the anthill”.

On Saturday evening, the rebellious leaders lit the fuse in a text published in The Sunday TribuneThey asked the head of state to “take note” the result of the legislative elections that he himself had called, by appointing as Prime Minister the candidate of the left bloc, which came in first – without having an absolute majority. Failing which, they would initiate impeachment proceedings against her.

However, this is far from being a foregone conclusion for the left. “The President of the Republic may only be dismissed in the event of a breach of his duties which is manifestly incompatible with the exercise of his mandate.”plans Article 68 of the Constitution. “The ‘failure’ in question may concern the political, but also the private, behaviour of the president, provided that his actions have undermined the dignity of his office”specifies the Vie publique website.

Is this the case here? “It is clear that the refusal to acknowledge a legislative election and the decision to ignore it constitute a reprehensible failure to meet the basic requirements of the presidential mandate.”estimate the leaders of LFI in their joint text. “The head of state is acting in his constitutional role. In the absence of a majority, he consults the political groups in order to appoint a Prime Minister.”responds the Elysée to the Worlddenouncing “an agitation that is very little in keeping with the spirit of the Republic and the letter of the Constitution.”

To be successful, the impeachment procedure must be requested by one tenth of the deputies or senators. The signatories must then convince the National Assembly and the Senate to constitute themselves as a High Court, by a two-thirds majority vote in each of the two chambers. In the event of a positive result, the High Court thus constituted votes on the impeachment as such, again by a two-thirds majority.

With 72 members at the Palais-Bourbon, “We have a tenth of the deputies” and even more, Manuel Bompard noted on Monday, while those “who support the President of the Republic represent less than a third of the deputies in the National Assembly.” However, given the political balance in the two chambers, and the reaction of LFI’s partners on the left, the proposal has no chance of success.

“There are not many people outside of LFI who have come to support this initiative”observed the head of the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, on Monday on franceinfo.The Ecologists are not “do not share” the position of La France Insoumise on the advisability of dismissal, she stressed. Si Marine Tondelier denounces “stubbornness” from the head of state, she nevertheless perceives a “favorable gesture” from Emmanuel Macron, who agreed to receive the NFP candidate with the party leaders of the left-wing coalition on Friday. “He receives us first in the protocol order. It is because, somewhere, he recognizes our order of arrival at the legislative elections. It was about time!”she greeted.

The proposal to initiate an impeachment of Emmanuel Macron “only engages” LFI and not the whole of the left united within the New Popular Front, also reacted the leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, on X from Sunday. “The response to the appointment of a Prime Minister who is not in accordance with the republican tradition is [motion de] censorship”he added.

The same distancing is being taken from the Communist Party, where we observe from AFP that “LFI chooses to launch into the presidential election now. It’s their choice.” “For us, it’s not the priority. Before considering a new presidential election, let’s respect the result of the legislative elections.”argues the PCF.