Tens of thousands of people marched across France on Sunday, January 21, to put pressure on the French government ahead of an expected ruling by France's Constitutional Council over a highly contested immigration law. The enshrining of the bill, demonstrators believe, would be a victory for the far-right.
The Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators at 75,000, while the CGT union said 150,000 people had demonstrated on Sunday. Over two hundred prominent figures had called for the rally, which saw several left-wing leaders in attendance, including Manon Aubry of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and Olivier Faure of the Parti Socialiste (PS).
People gathered across all of France in protest against the bill, including nearly 2,000 people in Lyon and 3,000 people in Bordeaux. "We call on the president not to promulgate this law," wrote those behind the call to demonstrate, including leaders of the country's main labor unions. The signatories of the call wrote that the bill "was drafted under the dictation of the fear mongers who dream of imposing their 'national preference' project on France."
At issue are Parliament's numerous additions to the initial text, pushing the bill further to the right. The text now includes many controversial measures, including tougher access to social benefits, the introduction of migration quotas, and the reinstatement of the "offense of illegal residence."
"The marches [on Sunday] must demonstrate that public opinion does not stand with the racists and fascists," urged the militant group Marche des Solidarités, which has been on the front line in the streets for several weeks. More than 300 left-wing and environmentalist elected representatives called, in the French daily Libération, to demonstrate against a bill enshrining the "cultural victory of the far right" under a political guise. "This law makes a mockery of principles handed down from the French Revolution," said the elected representatives.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.