Thousands of people gathered in several cities across France on Monday, June 10, in the evening, following the far-right Rassemblement National's surge at the polls in the European elections and French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of a dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale.
Paris police said 3,000 people had gathered on the Place de la République in Paris at 8 pm. Many of them were young people, chanting with middle fingers raised, slogans such as "Everybody hates Marine Le Pen."
"The prospect of having a far-right prime minister in three weeks terrifies me," said Alice, a 24-year-old student. Alba Bourreau, 19, an arts student, was taking part in her "first political demonstration," having voted on Sunday for the first time, saying she's "ready to come and demonstrate as much as we need to." "We've come to mobilize against fascism, and because we're fed up with this image that France votes right or far right. The left also exists. It's in the streets tonight," said Luna, 19.
Palestinian flags mingled with those of France's trade unions, like the CGT and UNEF, in the crowd. They had called for the rally. Manon Aubry, the radical left party La France Insoumise's lead candidate in the European elections, was also present.
As the crowds dispersed in the square shortly after 10 pm, several thousand demonstrators set off in the direction of the Greens' headquarters, where the left-wing parties were meeting to reach an agreement for the legislative elections, which will take place in less than three weeks. As they passed, election signs were smashed and tags left on the walls: "Not Macron, not Bardella", and "Macron-Bardella, same fight."
The atmosphere, which had been friendly until then, became tense shortly before midnight, with police dispersing the procession with sting-ball grenade, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Mobilization was strong in Toulouse among the 6,200 people gathered, according to local police. Matthieu Chêne, aged 30, said it was "essential to come (...) to be on the right side of history."
"I hope there will be a popular front. Roussel, Glucksmann, Mélenchon, everyone needs to put their egos aside!" he told AFP.
Incidents broke out in the city toward the end of the demonstration, with participants briefly seizing a construction machine, smashing shop windows and burning garbage cans. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, as observed by an AFP photographer, who witnessed two arrests.
In Marseille, France's second-largest city, which put the RN list in the lead in Sunday's European elections, some 2,200 people had gathered, according to police, in front of the regional Police Prefecture. "The far right in power won't let it go, let's fight it now!" and "Popular Front: all united," proclaimed hastily-constructed placards. Numerous local elected representatives, in tricolor scarves, were present.
Thousands of people also gathered in Nantes (4,400), Rennes (4,000) and 800 in Rouen. In Nantes, law enforcement officers used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, and garbage cans were set alight as the procession passed, which dissipated peacefully, an AFP journalist observed.
"What happened yesterday was a shock. We don't want to be left alone, we needed to see how many would mobilize against this," said Marie, a 69-year-old retiree at the demonstration in Rennes. Maël, a 19-year-old student, said he didn't want "to live in a France governed by the RN," recalling that it wouldn't be "the first time in history that fascism has come to power through the ballot box."
In Bordeaux, 2,800 people also gathered in Place de la Victoire to the beat of drums and the melody of "Bella Ciao." "I really don't understand this decision to dissolve the party. In three weeks, there can be no solid alliance against the RN," feared Muriel Jules, an 82-year-old pensioner.
But the atmosphere was galvanizing for Julia T., 30: "When I was a child, I watched from afar (...) the mobilization following [far-right Jean-Marie] Le Pen's qualification to the second round [of the 2002 presidential election]. Today, it's my turn to take to the streets and shout out my rejection of an inward-looking France," said the young woman.
In Lyon, in response to a call from left-wing and ultra-left movements, the demonstrators numbered 2,800, according to police. Some were prevented from crossing a bridge into the Vieux Lyon district, a stronghold of the ultraright, by a police cordon "which used tear gas after the demonstrators threw projectiles" in its direction, according to the prefecture. Garbage cans were also set alight late in the evening, AFP noted.
Around 1,800 demonstrators demonstrated in Grenoble, according to a police source, and around 1,000 in Montpellier, Saint-Etienne and Besançon. In Strasbourg, there were 950 demonstrators, according to police. "The far right has inoculated all ranks from the Assemblée Nationale to the Macronie. (...) Let's not let them!," radical left La France Insoumise MP Emmanuel Fernandes shouted into the microphone. "We will take our responsibilities so that on June 30, we present ourselves as a united, humanist front," promised the elected official.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.