France: Thousands Protests Against Far-Right National Rally Ahead Of Snap Elections

On Saturday afternoon, Thousands protested in Paris and various cities throughout France against the far-right National Rally, before the upcoming elections for the French Parliament.

As per police officials, around 75,000 people came out to march in Paris, which started at the local time of 1200 GMT (5:30 pm IST), starting from Place de La Republique to nation via the Bastille Square.

But as per CGT union, around 250,000 people marched in France’s capital, while in rest of the country, around 6,40,000 came out for the march.

Later, talking to the reporters, the extreme left CGT union leader Sophie Binet cited the reason behind the protests and said,

‘We are marching because we are extremely worried that (the RN’s head) Jordan Bardella could become the next Prime Minister. We want to prevent this disaster.’

In an apparent reference to National Front, she asserted, she’s worried that people believe in racist party.

In the end, Juste said, she’s fighting to ‘preserve a country of human rights, freedom, and tolerance.’

During the protests, several banners read ‘Young people hate the FN (the RN’s former name).

These protests come around the time, when snap elections announced French PM Emmanuel Macron, are just around the corner, which is going to be held on June 30 and July 7 respectively.

After the RN’s significant gains in the European elections last Sunday, police earlier anticipated that around 350,000 individuals would participate in marches, following the calls from labor unions, student groups, and rights organizations to organize rallies against the anti-immigration policies and eurosceptic party.