the essential
A call to demonstrate every evening in Toulouse against the extreme right was launched after the first round of the legislative elections. At least 900 people were mobilized on July 1st despite the ban by the prefecture.
“If I’m here, it’s to prevent the worst from happening again,” says a 25-year-old history and geography teacher. On Monday, July 1, he and his partner responded to the call to demonstrate against the far right in Toulouse, on the Allées Jean-Jaurès. The day before, after the first round of the legislative elections, several dozen people had already gathered on Place Arnaud-Bernard.
“I am very active on social media, but I think that today, it is more relevant to be in the streets,” said this activist, who intends to continue the mobilization if it gains momentum. “We do not want a racist and fascist government,” summarized another demonstrator amid slogans such as “Toulouse anti-fa” and “Toulouse rise up.”
An undeclared demonstration
At 8 p.m., there were about 900 people defying the ban on demonstrations issued by the Haute-Garonne prefecture in the afternoon, according to estimates by the police. This measure had been announced “in order to protect property and people, the public and demonstrators.” A large police and gendarmerie force was deployed from 7 p.m. to secure this gathering, which had not been declared.
The procession gradually moved along the Boulevard de Strasbourg to reach the Arnaud-Bernard district, where the demonstration gradually dispersed peacefully around 10 p.m.
