The indignation is overflowing on the French left. This Monday, Emmanuel Macron made official his refusal to appoint as prime minister Lucie Castetscandidate of the New Popular Front alliance. In a brief statement, the president argued that this decision is necessary to safeguard institutional stability, since “a government based solely on the program and the parties that comprise it would be immediately censured by all the other groups in the National Assembly.”

But in reality, Macron’s rejection is not necessarily directed against the left as a whole. The repudiation is aimed directly at the radical party. The Insoumise FranceThis is evident, for example, when Macron addresses the other parties of the New Popular Front, to invite them to “cooperate with other political forces”, that is, with the right and Macronism itself.

La France Insoumise knows this perfectly well. It knows that the blow is aimed at its deputies and reacts accordingly. Indeed, its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has reiterated that LFI will present a motion of censure against any government appointed by Macron without Lucie Castets as Prime Minister.

“The President of the Republic has just created an exceptionally serious situation. The popular and political response must be swift and firm. A motion of censure will be tabled,” Mélenchon warns, not forgetting that his party has also proposed initiating parliamentary proceedings to remove Macron for “failing to recognise the results of the legislative elections and making a mockery of democracy.” An initiative that has little chance of success, since it requires the approval of two-thirds of Parliament and the Senate, as well as the transformation of the National Assembly into a kind of “Supreme Court” to hear the president’s public appearances.

In the midst of this blockade, the “insubordinates” have decided to take to the streets. In a statement published yesterday, LFI and several trade union and student organisations have called for a large demonstration on 7 September against what they call Macron’s “coup de force”. For its part, the New Popular Front has declared that it will not allow “the victory to be stolen”.

But if La France Insoumise is clear about its direction, other political organisations are divided on whether or not to establish a dialogue with the presidency. The most visible case is that of the Socialist Party, where two blocks have been formed: that of the first secretary, Olivier Faure –totally opposed to a negotiation with Macron– and internal opponents of Faure, led by the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin, Helene Geoffroywho insists on resuming discussions with the president despite his refusal to appoint Lucie Castets.

“All French voters, both ours and those of the Republican Front, will reproach us for not having tried to the end,” said Geoffroy, criticising Faure’s decision not to attend the Elysée yesterday, where a second round of talks were taking place to choose the name of the new prime minister.

Geoffroy is also opposed to the radical line of La France Insoumise, accusing it of practising “intellectual terrorism”. Indeed, the mayor has refused to call for a demonstration on 7 September. “I am the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin and I know the price of calling for a revolt,” declared Geoffroy.

Meanwhile, among the Greens, who are also members of the NFP, along with communists, socialists and the LFI, there is also growing discontent. Shy but present. The ecologist MP for Paris, Sandrine Rousseau, has declared her support for the opening of impeachment proceedings against Macron, regulated by article 68 of the Constitution, which had previously been taken with a grain of salt within her party. Like the “insubordinates”, she believes that “the left must call for massive demonstrations and adopt a motion of censure against any government that is not formed by the New Popular Front.

In any case, time is of the essence. More than seven weeks have passed since the second round of early parliamentary elections, which gave the left-wing bloc the victory, but a new National Assembly has not yet been installed, nor is there a new prime minister on the horizon. President Macron must present a new parliamentary election. the nation’s budget before the National Assembly on October 1But above all, he must calm the political turbulence and get the country back on its feet once and for all.