“The youth piss off the National Front”, “this dirty racist is dead”… Here are some of the signs brandished Tuesday evening by opponents of Jean-Marie Le Pen, after the announcement on Tuesday of the death of the founder of the National Front . Hundreds of opponents gathered in several cities in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes, etc.) to celebrate, with songs, smoke bombs and fireworks, the death of this historic figure of the extreme right at the age of 96.
“This dirty racist is dead,” said a sign in Paris held up in the crowd of a few hundred people who formed in the early evening at Place de la République, where a few flags of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) were flying. “Youth piss off the National Front,” chanted participants, some of whom had climbed onto the central statue, while others launched anti-fascist slogans. Some fireworks were set off.
“Shameful scenes of jubilation”, castigates Bruno Retailleau
“Nothing, absolutely nothing justifies dancing on a corpse. The death of a man, even a political opponent, should inspire only restraint and dignity. These scenes of jubilation are simply shameful,” commented Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on X.
In Lyon, up to 600 people, depending on the prefecture, gathered in the city center. The gathering took place at the initiative of the ultra-left in order to “celebrate” after the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, as stated in the appeal launched on the Rebellyon account on left on the walls of the city, notably “Death to the idiot” and “Le Pen, you have to burn to get into the ballot box”.
In Marseille, where between 200 and 300 people gathered in the Old Port, the atmosphere was also festive, between bottles of champagne, little party hats and this sign: “Finally”. “It’s the death of a character that we hate, because he was misogynist, racist, Holocaust denier, anti-Semitic and all that. We must celebrate when such hateful characters die,” explained Louise Delporte, a 20-year-old political science student.
“It’s a symbol of the extreme right that is dying”
“It’s a dying symbol and it’s really good to know that. A symbol of an extreme right which no longer has any meaning today. Unfortunately, she still exists and we must remember that she must not be alive,” rejoiced Vivien Perez, a young 24-year-old musician.
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Jean-Marie Le Pen, figure of the French extreme right and finalist in the 2002 presidential election, died Tuesday at the age of 96 in the Paris region, in an establishment where he had been admitted several weeks ago.
Massive demonstrations were organized across France in the spring of 2002 against his qualification for the second round of the presidential election which pitted him against Jacques Chirac.
