Impeachment proceedings have been launched against embattled French President Emmanuel Macron.

The first step in having the measure approved was passed by a group of left-wingers to denounce the French leader’s so-called “unprecedented authoritarian drift” with an accompanying petition, signed by more than 300,000 people.

The far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) was deemed admissible by the bureau of the National Assembly yesterday, Tuesday, September 17, by 12 votes to 10.

Although it has no realistic chance of succeeding, the move was the first of its kind in the history of the Fifth Republic, which is the system of government in France.

The trouble stems from the summer when Macron refused to allow left wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) candidate Lucie Castets to form a government despite NFP winning the most seats in July’s legislative elections. Instead right-winger Michel Barnier was appointed Prime Minister.

The result of the impeachment vote was expected as NFP – which includes LFI – holds a majority in the bureau where it was held.

Now the potential impeachment will have to be examined by the Assembly’s Law Committee before being put to the vote in the wider parliament where it must be approved by two-thirds of MPs – 385 out of 577.

Following that it must then be sent to the Senate – but it has no chance of passing through as right-wing and centrist allies have a majority.

Right wiger Marine Le Pen, the president of the Rassemblement National (RN) in the National Assembly, denounced the move as a “sinister comedy” and accused those behind it of spreading “disorder and chaos“.

It comes as Macron’s Government was slammed by its own minister who said “we have not done enough” on the migrant crisis in the midst of the latest tragedy in the Channel.

Guillaume Kasbarian, the resigning Minister Delegate for Housing, has spoken out about his own government after at least eight migrants died attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat over the weekend.

Mr Kasbarian – who is a member of the Renaissance party of which Mr Macron is the honorary president – was a guest on franceinfo on Sunday, September 15, and said his Government had failed to fully tackle smugglers and trafficking.

He said: “I don’t think we’ve achieved all our objectives on migration issues.

“We have done as much as we can in the time available to us, but obviously there is always room for improvement.”