“Prevent the catastrophe”
Mass protests in France against right-wing extremists
16.06.2024, 00:29
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Marine Le Pen’s right-wing nationalists could come to power in France’s parliamentary elections in July. A scenario that many in the country want to prevent. Several hundred thousand people are taking to the streets to protest against the right-wing extremists.
In France, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party. The CGT union spoke of 650,000 participants across the country, including 250,000 in Paris. The police reported a total of 217,000 participants. In addition to unions, student associations and human rights groups also called for the protests. According to media reports, there was isolated damage to property and confrontations with the police on the sidelines of some demonstrations. Protests are planned for Sunday.
The demonstrators fear that Marine Le Pen’s RN will win the early parliamentary elections at the end of the month and take government responsibility. RN leader Jordan Bardella must not become the next prime minister, said CGT leader Sophie Binet at the Place de la République. “We want to prevent this catastrophe.”
According to recent opinion polls, the RN is just ahead of the Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing parties. According to a survey published in the magazine “Le Point”, the RN has 29.5 percent and the left-wing alliance 28.5 percent. The alliance led by President Emmanuel Macron is a long way behind at 18 percent.
After the clear defeat of his centrist alliance against the RN in the European Parliament elections, Macron dissolved the National Assembly and ordered early parliamentary elections. These are scheduled for June 30 and July 7. The two dates are necessary because France has a majority voting system. The representative of a constituency who receives the most votes in the second round of the runoff election will be elected to parliament. The RN’s strong performance in the European elections cannot therefore automatically be transferred to the parliamentary elections.