STORY: :: France's left-wing alliance leaders join thousands in
Paris protesting against the far-right National Rally (RN)
:: June 15, 2024
:: Ilan Gabet
:: Scuffles broke out between
French police and demonstrators
:: Ian Brossat, French Communist Party leader
"We are here, we are here because we will never entertain the idea that these people will seize power in a country like France, because we will never entertain the idea that racism, that discrimination, on the basis of skin colour, on the basis of religion, can exist in the seventh most powerful economy in the world, France. This country, this country of freedom, this country of equality, this country of fraternity."
As many as 100,000 people were expected to turn out at the march, police said.
Following the RN's surge in last Sunday's (June 9) European elections, at least 150 marches were expected across France in cities including Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon and Lille.
President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative election, to be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, after his centrist alliance was trounced by the RN.
On Thursday (June 13), political parties representing the French left-wing said they had reached an agreement to form a 'Popular Front' to contest the snap parliamentary election.
