PARIS. Anti-racist groups will join French trade unions and a new left-wing coalition to protest in Paris and across France today against the advance of the far-right nationalist Rassemblement National, as a frenetic campaign continues ahead of parliamentary elections advance. In Paris, protesters, who fear the election will produce France’s first far-right government since World War II, will gather at the Place de la Republique before marching through the eastern part of the city.
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Danilo Ceccarelli
Protesters have been gathering daily since Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant Rassemblement National won a historic victory in Sunday’s European Parliament elections, crushing President Emmanuel Macron’s moderates and pushing him to dissolve the National Assembly.
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by our correspondent Francesca Schianchi
The new elections for the lower house of Parliament, which are in two rounds, have been set for June 30 and July 7. Macron remains president until 2027 and responsible for foreign policy and defense, but would see his presidency weakened if the Rassemblement National wins. “We need a democratic and social uprising, otherwise the far right will take power,” French unions said in a statement published Friday. “Our Republic and our democracy are in danger,” they added, underlining that in Europe and around the world, far-right leaders have passed laws that harm women, the LGBTQ+ community and people of Afro-descendants.
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Francesca Schianchi
To prevent RN from winning the next elections, left-wing parties agreed on Friday to put aside their differences over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and form a coalition. They urged French citizens to defeat the far right. According to opinion polls, RN, whose founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, has been repeatedly condemned for racism and anti-Semitismshould be ahead in the first round of the parliamentary elections.
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The party won the European elections, collecting more than 30% of the votes cast in France, almost double the votes of Macron’s Renaissance party. Macron’s mandate will last three more years and the president will retain control of foreign affairs and defense regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary elections. But his presidency would be weakened if the RN wins, which could put its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella on track to become the next prime minister, with authority over domestic and economic affairs.
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