After toasting the “two-ball sparkling wine”, Séverine, 25, “precarious worker”, brandishes a bottle of sparkling apple juice, “a poor man’s Champomy”. Then she chants “Happy New Year, good health, Jean-Marie has died! » before blowing a kiss to his unknown neighbors who, for their part, start dancing on the asphalt.
Like her, several thousand demonstrators gathered this Tuesday evening from 7 p.m. at Place de la République in Paris, responding to the invitation launched a few hours earlier on social networks for a “giant aperitif” to celebrate the disappearance of the founder of the National front.
“It’s a moment of joy, we’ve been waiting for it for so long. This awful guy is finally gone after haunting politics, even after his retirement. It’s symbolic, it’s a smile in our fight against the extreme right,” applauds the “Marxist-Leninist, slightly Maoist” wage earner while her voice is suddenly covered by a concert of ululations.
In the crowd, a large majority of young people who, for some, were not born when “the Menhir” rose to the second round of the 2002 presidential election. Many claim to be from the extreme left, others do not belong to any party. They came on foot, by metro, by bike or by skateboard. Among the slogans, we hear “And the youth piss off the National Front!” », “One Two Three Long live Algeria! », “Paris Paris antifa! » or “Marine Le Pen next!” »
“A form of liberation”
Charles, a mustachioed 27-year-old, who identifies with the ideas of the New Popular Front (NFP), feels “a form of liberation”. “Even if the Jean-Marie Le Pen effect is still there,” continues the law student who aspires to become a lawyer. Hassina, a 26-year-old student of Algerian origin, had been looking forward to this evening “for years”.
“I grew up with the idea that Jean-Marie Le Pen was the devil. In 2002, he scared my parents very much. When I told my mother that he was dead, she was very happy,” breathes this former LR voter and Macronist who now votes LFI. “But it’s the man who died, not the ideology,” says his friend, looking serious.
A few meters away, a garbage truck honks its horn as a rallying sign. A sign with colorful letters attracts attention. “The dirty racist is dead”, we read on one side and “What a beautiful day!” » on the other.
On the first floor of the statue of the Republic, under the bronze Marianne, guests wave Berber, Palestinian, Turkish or LGBT flags. One of them juggles burning sticks. Smoke bombs were lit and mortar shots launched as fireworks (uncontrolled) which provoked a round of applause.
The indignation of Bruno Retailleau
In Lyon (Rhône), up to 600 people gathered for the same occasion. In Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), where between 200 and 300 people gathered in the Old Port, the atmosphere was also festive, between bottles of champagne, small party hats and this sign: “Finally”.
So many scenes of jubilation which provoked the anger of Bruno Retailleau, describing them as “shameful”. On X, the Minister of the Interior declared that “nothing, absolutely nothing justifies dancing on a corpse”.
