French Parliament Approves Impeachment Proceedings against Macron

The Bureau of the French National Assembly (lower house of parliament) approved a draft resolution to launch impeachment proceedings against Emmanuel Macron. The Bureau approved the procedure for the removal of the French President from office, gazeta.ru reports citing leparisien.fr The initiative was put forward after Macron excluded left representatives from the new government despite the success of their coalition in parliamentary elections. The document was prepared in accordance with Article 68 of the French Constitution, which removes the President from office if he violates his duties. The resolution was backed by 81 MPs from the Nouveau Front Populaire bloc, including 72 representatives of La France insoumise, as well as the Greens and some MPs from Groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine. If the resolution passes this stage, it must be approved by a legislative committee of 73 deputies, where the Left has only 24 seats. After that, two-thirds of the National Assembly (385 deputies) must vote in favor of the document within two weeks. Similar procedures must take place in the Senate, where the Left does not have a majority. If the Senate approves the resolution (232 votes), the two chambers will meet in a joint session, and the resolution needs the support of 617 out of 925 parliamentarians to pass. If the vote is successful, the President will be immediately removed from office.