Frexit politician calls for Macron’s ‘removal’ as France descends into chaos over pensions

A leading Frexit politician has called for French president Emmanuel Macron to be impeached, as anger persists over his controversial pension reforms. François Asselineau called on legislators in the National Assembly, known as députés, to enact the “removal procedure” to force Mr Macron out of office.

The leader of the Frexit-supporting party Union Populaire Républicaine (UPR) said 45-year-old Mr Macron is “dragging France into chaos”.

This comes following the decision to force through contentious pension reforms, which would see the working age increase to 64 from 62.

101 people were arrested in protests across Paris, in which demonstrators clashed with police.

French prime minister  Élisabeth Borne employed a special constitutional power, called Article 49:3, to force through the reforms without a vote.

In response, centrist politicians tabled a no-confidence motion. However, the motion fell short of the 287 votes needed.

Had it passed, Mr Macron would have had to hold fresh elections or name a new government.

The French president insisted that the reforms are necessary as their current pension scheme is unaffordable.

But this isn’t a view that is universally accepted across the National Assembly.

In 2018, the UPR called for Mr Macron to be removed from office in the wake of the gilet jaune or yellow vest movement.

The yellow vest movement sparked following a planned fuel tax hike, however it morphed into a more general movement against the French government.

Mr Asselineau has previously dubbed Mr Macron an “incompetent narcissist”.

The right-wing French politician has called for the implementation of Article 68 of the country’s constitution, which can force a president out of office.

The article states: “The President of the Republic can only be dismissed in the event of a breach of his duties manifestly incompatible with the exercise of his mandate”.