Anti-racism groups joined French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France on Saturday, June 15, against the surging nationalist far right as frenzied campaigning is underway ahead of snap parliamentary elections.
In Paris, those who fear that the elections will produce France's first far-right government since World War II began gathering at Place de la Republique at around 2 pm. The procession will go through eastern Paris.
The French Interior Ministry said 21,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed at protests across the country, with authorities expecting between 300,000 and 500,000 protesters nationwide.
In the French Riviera city of Nice, protesters marched down Jean Médecin Avenue, the city’s main shopping street. Protest organizers said 3,000 took part, while the police put the number at 2,500. Nice is traditionally a conservative stronghold, but has over the past decade turned firmly in favor of far-right Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN)and her far-right rival Eric Zemmour.
Crowds have been gathering daily ever since the anti-immigration RN made historic gains in the European Parliament elections last Sunday, crushing Macron's pro-business moderates and prompting him to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale.
New elections for the lower house of parliament were set in two rounds, for June 30 and July 7. Macron remains president until 2027 and in charge of foreign policy and defense, but his presidency would be weakened if the National Rally wins and takes power of the government and domestic policy.
"We need a democratic and social upsurge – if not the extreme right will take power,'' French unions said in a statement Friday. "Our Republic and our democracy are in danger.'' They noted that in Europe and across the world, extreme-right leaders have passed laws detrimental to women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color.
French opinion polls suggest the RN – whose founder has been repeatedly convicted of racism and antisemitism – is expected to be ahead in the first round of the parliamentary elections. The party came out on top in the European elections, garnering more than 30% of the vote cast in France, almost twice as many votes as Macron’s party Renaissance.