Several hundred opponents of Jean-Marie Le Pen gathered on Tuesday January 7 in several cities in France to celebrate, with songs, smoke bombs and fireworks, the disappearance of this far-right figure.
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“This dirty racist is dead”said in Paris a sign brandished in the crowd of a few hundred people which formed at the start of the evening at Place de la République, and where a few flags of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) flew.
“The youth piss off the National Front! »chanted participants, some of whom had climbed on the central statue, while others launched anti-fascist slogans, noted journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP). There, as in Lyon, some fireworks were set off.
“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 the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, on X.
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For her part, the leader of the “rebellious” deputies, Mathilde Panot, estimated on RTL that “those who are shocked” through these gatherings are in a spirit Charlie The morning [alors qu’on commémorait mardi les 10 ans de l’attentat contre le journal satirique] and then in the evening are shocked that people can make a joke or a symbolic rally about the death of a far-right leader”who was a “enemy of the Republic”.
On Public Senate, the socialist Jérôme Guedj found, for his part, “no one should rejoice in the death of any man, whoever he may be”more “no point in watering down the course” of Jean-Marie Le Pen, while François Bayrou is accused of having minimized the multiple scandals which marked the career of the co-founder of the National Front by describing them only as “controversies”.
In Lyon, up to 600 people, according to the prefecture, gathered around 7 p.m. in the city center, noted an AFP journalist, at the call of the ultra-left, in order to “party” after the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, as stated in the appeal launched on the Rebellyon account, on X.
According to the Rhône prefecture, cited by AFP, seven people were arrested following this gathering, for “participation in a group with a view to preparing violence against people or property” and for “willful damage to property.” by fire.”
“The death of a character we hate”
In Marseille, where between 200 and 300 people gathered in the Old Port according to AFP journalists on site, the atmosphere was also festive, between bottles of champagne, small party hats and this sign: ” Finally “.
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“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 to AFP Louise Delporte, a 20-year-old political science student.
“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 24-year-old musician.
