France rallies against Le Pen
About 250,000 marched against Le Pen in Paris alone
More than a million people have taken part in May Day
demonstrations against far-right presidential candidate
Jean-Marie Le Pen.
The interior ministry
estimates that 1.1 million
protesters turned out,
including 250,000 in Paris,
overshadowing a march by
up to 20,000 supporters of
the National Front leader in
the French capital.
Thousands of riot police were
deployed to keep the rival
groups apart.
The anti-Le Pen demonstrators taking part in the Paris
marches included groups carrying Communist red flags,
anti-globalisation campaigners and trade unionists.
The National Front leader,
who espouses
anti-immigrant policies,
shocked Europe by winning
nearly 17% of the vote in
the first round of the
presidential election and
the right to challenge
incumbent Jacques Chirac
in Sunday's run-off.
The national turnout made
Wednesday by far the
biggest protest against Le
Pen since he edged
Socialist Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin out of the
contest in the first round
on 21 April.
May Day is traditionally celebrated by both left and right
in France - albeit for different reasons.
For the left, the day is about celebrating long-standing
workers' rights.
In the far-right's own mythology, 1 May is about
celebrating Joan of Arc, the virgin peasant soldier who in
the 15th Century helped throw the English invaders out
of France.
:
Voters' voices
In pictures: Views from the May Day marches
Many Le Pen supporters waved French flags
and shouted "Le Pen for president!" as they
filed past a statue of Joan of Arc before
listening to the National Front leader give his
first public speech since his electoral
breakthrough.
Mr Le Pen, 73, laid a wreath at the statue and
then marched to the Place de l'Opera to
address the crowd.
Seizing on sleaze
allegations that have
dogged Mr Chirac, he said:
"The incumbent president
is the godfather of the
clans who are bleeding the
country dry.
"He stinks of corruption.
He is dripping with money."
Opinion polls have forecast
that Mr Chirac will win a
second term by a landslide
on Sunday, backed by a
coalition of mainstream
political parties, pressure
groups and community
organisations.
Police in other European capitals were also on high alert
for May Day protests:
In Berlin, hundreds of demonstrators clashed
with police overnight after the attempted looting
of a supermarket, ahead of Wednesday's
anti-globalisation protests.
In London, all police leave was cancelled and
6,000 extra officers were drafted in to control
protests by environmentalists, anti-capitalists
and trade unionists
In Moscow, thousands of communist supporters
and trade unionists took to the streets.
In May Day demonstrations elsewhere, police on
horseback in Australia broke up a protest outside the
Sydney offices of the company which runs detention
centres for illegal immigrants.
Other Australian cities have
also seen May Day rallies,
with protests against the
government's policies
towards asylum seekers, in
support of Palestinian land
claims and more generalised
anti-globalisation
demonstrations.
In the Philippines, thousands
of supporters of Joseph
Estrada, the imprisoned
ex-president, marched on
the presidential palace in the
capital, Manila.
And in the Indian city of Calcutta, hundreds of
prostitutes held a rally to campaign for the legalisation
of the sex industry.
WATCH/LISTEN
ON THIS STORY
The BBC's Jon Sopel
"Perhaps Le Pen's growing
respectability is what the
established parties need to
fear the most"
The BBC's Fiona Werge
reports on protests in
London, Berlin, Moscow and
Sydney
news.bbc.co.uk |
