The French government, which missed a deadline this week to set a blueprint to lower its debt and deficit, is struggling to meet fiscal requirements set by the E.U.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across France, responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticized as a power grab the president’s appointment of a new prime minister, Michel Barnier.

After nearly two months of political paralysis, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed the veteran conservative politician Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister to steer the country out of one of the worst political crises in the 66-year history of the Fifth Republic.