Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the Socialist party (PS), said Macron's decision to name Barnier PM put him in the far right's pocket.

"Macron and his friends could have chosen not to punish the NFP, to let it govern while accepting it would have to compromise because it would not have an absolute majority. Instead, he preferred to put himself under the control of the RN," Faure posted on X.

A poll by Elabe on Friday suggested 74% of French people thought Macron had disregarded the election result with 55% saying they believed he had stolen the vote. At the same time, 40% said Barnier was a good choice for PM.