Paris – Archyde.com
Protests are expected across France on Saturday; Opponents of far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen are seeking to form a united front, to prevent her from winning the second round of elections over President Emmanuel Macron on April 24.
Police warned of the possibility of accidents as protesters gathered in about 30 cities.
Macron, a pro-EU and centrist, won the presidency in 2017 after easily defeating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him in a second round to keep the far right out of power.
But this year, the first round of voting, which took place last Sunday, led to the same battle, but Macron faces a tougher challenge this time.
The French League for Human Rights said in a joint statement announcing the protests: “The far right is once again in the second round of the presidential elections, reinforced by a level of support we have not seen before. We refuse to see him win power.” Dozens of rights groups, unions and other associations signed the call to protest.
Le Pen rejected the protests, describing them in an interview with reporters during an election event in southern France as “undemocratic.”
“People protesting the election results is totally undemocratic,” she said. I say to all these people just go vote. It is that simple.”