Around 110,000 protesters across France, including 26,000 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry

Thousands of left-wing protesters are marching in France on Saturday against “the coup de force” of the President of the Republic. With some 150 mobilizations planned throughout the country, the left, La France Insoumise (LFI) in the lead, has chosen the street as a warm-up for a political autumn that promises to be hot.

“Denial of democracy”, “The French didn’t vote for this”, “that[e Macron] resign » : in the processions, the same words, often, to express the indignation and anger at the nomination of Michel Barnier (Les Républicains, LR) as prime minister.

Cindy Rondineau, a 40-year-old photographer, and her partner Aubin Gouraud, a 42-year-old farmer, have left-wing hearts but tell Agence France-Presse that they are not used to demonstrating. On Saturday morning, however, they traveled from Chaumes-en-Retz to Nantes – around thirty kilometers – to participate in the mobilization. “We really feel like we’re not being listened to as voters”the couple said. Their 8-year-old daughter was carrying a sign “Macron, you’re screwed, the CE2s are in the street” in the middle of a family and good-natured procession which paraded behind a banner “Only one solution: impeachment”The demonstration brought together between 2,500 people, according to the prefecture, and 8,000 people, according to the organizers.

The crowd was smaller at NiceIn a department where the National Rally (RN), LR and the Eric Ciotti-RN union lists share all nine constituencies, between 900 and 1,000 people, depending on the source, marched behind the banner. “Let’s defend our democracy”.

“I think that in any case, expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power.”castigates Manon Bonijol, 21, who came to demonstrate in Paris. Place de la Bastille, Abel Couaillier, 20 years old, student, confesses to being “stunned” by the appointment of Michel Barnier: “An old political elephant that has nothing to do with the aspirations shown by the French.” “I want to believe that we can change things and I will continue to vote, it’s the only way we have to make things change”he continues. Alexandra Germain, 44, project manager, is more bitter: “It’s a dictatorship that is being established. It’s been a while since we were listened to in the streets, now we are no longer listened to at the ballot box.”