BRUSSELS — The French nominee for a top European Union job was rejected by the European Parliament on Thursday, a stinging defeat for President Emmanuel Macron, who has been criticized for bypassing the continental legislature, even as his power has been growing within the bloc.

Sylvie Goulard, a former minister under Mr. Macron and a longtime member of the European Parliament, was rejected after grueling hearings at the hands of her former colleagues.

She had been put forward by Mr. Macron to lead internal market and industrial policy at the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm.

Her finances came under close scrutiny in the hearings process that is carried out by the European Parliament. Two years ago, Ms. Goulard resigned as French defense minister after she was accused of providing a no-show job to an assistant at her office.