Legislative elections 2024: thousands of demonstrators marched against the far right in France on June 15

A Montpellier, la manifestation avait lieu vendredi 14 juin. Dans d’autres villes elle est prévue ce samedi 15 juin. MIDI LIBRE – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Tens of thousands of opponents of the extreme right are marching across France on Saturday at the call of unions, associations and the New Popular Front, the union of political parties. left shaken by accusations of "purge" within LFI.

Several thousand people demonstrated this Saturday June 15 in France to call for a start “republican"against the extreme right which could be brought to power thanks to the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7.

According to the CGT, 640,000 demonstrators marched in France, including 250,000 in Paris. In the capital, the police headquarters counted 75,000 demonstrators.

From Bayonne to Nice, from Vannes to Reims, anti-RN demonstrators mobilized against the prospect of a victory for the extreme right in the legislative elections with the result ;hypothesis of an entry of the head of the National Rally Jordan Bardella into Matignon.

"I thought I was never going to see the far right come to power and now it can happen", fears Florence David, 60 years old, trainer who parades in Paris.

"No need to vote RN to love France"

In Lille 4,000 people marched according to the prefecture, more than 10,000 according to the unions. In Bordeaux, there were 30,000 according to the inter-union association, 6,800 according to the authorities. In Clermont-Ferrand, between 2,600 (prefecture) and 5,000 people (unions) demonstrated. In Puy-en-Velay, there were 580 according to the prefecture. In Lyon, the demonstration is planned for this Sunday, June 16.

In Marseille, thousands of people paraded in a festive atmosphere between the Old Port and the entrance to the port of France's second city. The police headquarters counted 11,700 demonstrators. In the diverse crowd gathered in France's second city were mainly young people, but also many families who had come with young children in strollers and a few elderly people.

Several French flags were brandished by the demonstrators, some covered with slogans like "France, we love it, not the R’Hate& quot; or "No need to vote RN to love France".

A few brief episodes of tension

The processions took place largely peacefully apart from a few brief episodes of tension in Rennes where a few dozen antifa were pushed back by the police with tear gas. In Paris, urban equipment was damaged and a bank branch targeted by hooded demonstrators. The police were also the target of bottle throwing to which they responded with tear gas.

Everywhere in France, slogans resonated in the processions: "youth piss off the National Front", "no quarter for the fascists, no fascists in our neighborhoods" or "Bardella get out of it, the Republic is not yours".

"The situation is serious, we have to get involved", explains Gauvin Chêne, a 20-year-old student years. "I am here to defend women’s rights, equality between peoples, ecology too", says Marie Chandel, 58 years old, employed in National Education.

From police sources, 300 to 350,000 people were expected. 21 000 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized.

Five unions CFDT, CGT, UNSA, FSU and Solidaires called for mobilization. FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC highlight their apoliticism so as not to call for demonstrations.

Purge within LFI

Left-wing leaders were at the head of the procession in Paris. Without a word on the deep differences which are shaking the New Popular Front, after the decision of La France Insoumise (LFI) not to reinvest several figures opposed to Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

"We are ready, we made (the union), no one believed in it", "we are going give you back the flame. And not that of the National Front, that one we are going to extinguish", launched the boss of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier.

"There are differences between us but when the essential is in question, we have no right to do anything other than come together" , added the boss of the socialists, Olivier Faure. "We are in the process of writing history", assured Mathilde Panot, close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

In Amiens, François Ruffin, still urged "not to return to resentment", but "to gain height". "Jean-Luc Mélenchon is fabulous when he withdraws", he tackled.

Discontent within LFI broke out on Friday evening. A close friend of the tribune, Adrien Quatennens, although sentenced in 2022 to four months of suspended imprisonment for domestic violence, was reinvested in the North.

On the other hand, Danielle Simonnet, Raquel Garrido and Alexis Corbière, historical figures of the movement opposed to the Mélenchonist line, were brutally dismissed and replaced by other candidates unknown to the general public.

“A purge”, denounced the first, the second accusing Jean-Luc Mélenchon of “settling his scores”.

“Extremely shocked”, Marine Tondelier summoned the authorities of her EELV party and Olivier Faure tried to “resolve the scandalous eviction” of LFI deputies.

Another potential source of discord within the New Popular Front, the former socialist president of the Republic François Hollande, who is in favor of uniting the left against the extreme right, has announced his candidacy for the legislative elections in Corrèze.

The RN in the lead in the polls

Sounded after the surprise announcement of the dissolution by Emmanuel Macron, the majority goes on the offensive with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, campaigning on Saturday in his constituency in Vanves ( Hauts de-Seine) where he promised to "not give up". He will reveal the majority's program on the 8 p.m. news on France 2.

With 33% of voting intentions, the RN came out clearly in the lead in the first round of the legislative elections on June 30, ahead of the New Popular Front (25%) and the majority presidential election (20%), according to an Opinionway poll published Saturday for Les Echos.

As of Friday, Jordan Bardella campaigning in Loiret chose to make the New Popular Front his target number 1.

The president of the RN, who is targeting Matignon at only 28 years old, judged that only "two political parties" will be able to "compose a government": his own, favorite in the polls, and this new union of the left.

As Euro football kicked off on Friday evening in Germany, France team striker Marcus Thuram called for & quot;fighting so that the RN does not pass", a rare position for a high-level athlete.