Protests in France: People, dissatisfied with the result of the European Parliament elections
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday to oppose Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which is predicted to finish first in the snap legislative election called by President Emmanuel Macron in two weeks, AFP reports.
The demonstrators are seeking to call attention to the nationalist party’s policies on human rights, the environment, equal rights and economic matters.
Macron took a massive gamble when he dissolved the legislature on Sunday after his party was trounced by the National Rally in the European Parliament ballot. The move was designed to shore up his support at home, but he opened the door to Le Pen taking control of the French government.
Further complicating matters for Macron, a group of four left-leaning parties agreed to join forces in the vote, with polls indicating the coalition could become the second-biggest bloc ahead of the president’s Renaissance party.
Because France has a two-round electoral system with a bar to move on to the second, many Renaissance candidates may not even make it to the final election day.
“We’re at a historic moment, at an uncertain time, it’s a bit like a jump into the unknown for our democracy,” Marylise Leon, the general secretary of the union CFDT that’s organizing protests, told France Inter radio Saturday. “When it’s about the far right, we get mobilized.”
As many as 350,000 people are expected to take part in the marches nationwide, according to the French police.
