"The Insoumise make the short scale to the RN," Macron said at the Council of Ministers, adding that "the factious feed the factions," according to remarks reported by BFMTV and confirmed to AFP by a participant.
"On the offensive," the president "was extremely firm, condemned" Mr. Mélenchon, according to another participant.
The LFI leader has been under fire from the government since Tuesday for failing to condemn the violence of some protesters against the police.
The "new excesses" of the far left leader "are part of a permanent questioning of our institutions," accused the Prime Minister during questions to the government in the Senate.
Ms Borne saw in her latest statements "a new step" in an endeavour to "undermine the confidence of our fellow citizens in our democracy".
"+Down with the wrong Republic+," he said. Everyone knows it well: for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the only good Republic is him," said the head of government, referring to the formula used on May 1 by the LFI leader to reiterate his opposition to the Fifth Republic.
LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon (c) in Paris, May 1, 2023 © Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
"Madame Borne, after Darmanin, plays her ugly score of calumnies and hatred against me. Strongly that such a person harmful to the country leaves power, "responded the former presidential candidate Wednesday on Twitter.
At the same time, in the National Assembly, a new tense debate was held on the maintenance of order and the "repression of the social movement", at the initiative of... The France rebellious. The leader of the group of rebels Mathilde Panot launched the charge against "Macronia, citadel besieged" for whom "it is no longer a question of saving public order but the established order".
New anti-breaker text?
On the government bench, the Minister Delegate for Overseas Jean-François Carenco stressed that "the vast majority of demonstrations are going very well". But "disruptive elements infiltrated the processions".
He repeatedly criticized the left for interrupting him. "Fuck, that's not true, ah what a democracy here," he finally blurted out.
He briefly missed a question from a Renaissance elected official, arousing the ire of the left. On his return, Minister Carenco evoked a stroke of fatigue.
Mathilde Panot asked for a suspension of the session by asking in vain for the arrival of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.
The leader of the parliamentary group of the Insoumise Mathilde Panot at the National Assembly in Paris, March 20, 2023 © Bertrand GUAY / AFP / Archives
In this context, the executive said it was considering a new anti-thug text, to "adapt" to their "new uses" during demonstrations, summarized government spokesman Olivier Véran.
"Does the legislative arsenal, does the law today allow to do it? I recall that in 2019, we adopted an important text that allowed for improvements" but "we had not gone completely to the end", he continued.
He referred to the law adopted against the backdrop of the "yellow vests" crisis and whose Constitutional Council had however censored certain measures, in particular the possibility for prefects to pronounce administrative bans on demonstrations.
"No answer at this stage" on the need for a law, for the government spokesman. But "in any case, we are thinking about it," said Eric Dupond-Moretti in the morning on RTL, specifying that he would meet Gérald Darmanin on Friday to "work together" on this subject.
Before the Senate, Mr. Darmanin more explicitly evoked "a bill or a bill", in response to Senator Les Républicains (LR) Muriel Jourda who asked him what the government was doing to maintain order.
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