After several rallies held throughout the week, Sunday’s demonstration against the RN brought together nearly 10,000 people, in a city where the left came well ahead of the European vote.
“RN in power, freedom goodbye”. Several thousand people demonstrated on Sunday in Lyon to “block the extreme right” as part of the weekend mobilizations. The day after the processions which brought together 250,000 demonstrators throughout France according to the authorities (640,000 according to the CGT), and two days after a gathering of 4,000 to 10,000 people in front of the town hall, there were 9,600 according to the prefecture (15,000 according to the CGT), to have responded to the call.
Young people, families and elderly people marched, gathered behind union banners, chanting “everyone hates Bardella”, in a city largely dominated by the left in the European elections. A procession which moved in a generally calm and good-natured atmosphere, even if four individuals were arrested for “carrying weapons by destination”. The police had to use tear gas after being targeted by projectiles and mortar fire by people who attacked the pre-procession, the prefecture said.
“F**k Jordan, get out of there”, “the wind is blowing, the fascists are trembling”, “Democratic rearmament”, could we read on signs. Flags of unions, political parties and LGBT associations were waved along the route. Coming with his wife Anne-Marie, Christian, 56, judged “important to show that not all French people are extreme right”.
Marianne, also 63 years old, lives above the local identity workers in Old Lyon and has seen them a lot in recent days: “They are totally uninhibited” she regrets. Several videos relayed on Telegram by accounts presented as “nationalist” show around fifty ultra-right activists dressed in black roaming the streets of the city center chanting “The street, France belongs to us”in response to the anti-RN mobilization.
