French elections: Thousands gather in Paris to protest far-right surge
Unions, independent media, citizen organisations organised a rally in Paris on Wednesday night to support the left-wing bloc and denounce the rise of the far-right in the upcoming second round of parliamentary elections, writes Euronews.
Thousands gathered on Wednesday in Paris to protest the results of the first round of the French legislative elections after the far-right National Rally party secured the most votes.
Multiple unions, independent media and citizens' organisations were behind the demonstration calling on voters to block the rise of the far right for the second round of the elections scheduled for Sunday.
Many present fear a far-right victory could curtail civil liberties due to the National Rally’s history of xenophobia and antisemitism.
"If tomorrow the far right wins, I don't know what will become of my fellow foreign students, binationals who will be stigmatised, LGBTQ people, people of colour, what will become of women, because the far right is the enemy of all these people," said Salomé Hocquard, Vice-President of the National Union of Students of France (UNEF), one of the organisers of the protest.
To prevent the National Rally from obtaining a 289-seat majority, the left-wing coalition known as the New Popular Front (NFP) and French President Emmanuel Macron's party Ensemble said it would withdraw its candidates in districts where they finished third to support other stronger candidates opposed to the National Rally (RN) in next Sunday's vote.
This tactic, known as the Front Républicain (the Republican Front), worked in the past when the far right was considered a political outcast.
There is a chance that if voters mobilise massively, they could block the National Rally from winning the absolute majority in Parliament next Sunday. But voter fatigue is a major hurdle.
