Approximately 15,000 people responded to a call to action issued by progressive forces and joined a protest in central Paris on April 6, in response to a far-right mobilization organized by the National Rally (Rassemblement National, RN). The counter-demonstration was convened on short notice by youth organizations, France Unbowed (La France Insoumise, LFI), The Ecologists (Les Écologistes), and other allied groups, following the RN’s call for support of Marine Le Pen after she was barred from running for public office in an embezzlement case last week.
The RN used the ruling as an excuse to launch an attack on the judiciary, accusing those who delivered the ruling of bias and political motivation. This rhetoric led to death threats against the judges, who had to be put under police protection. Additionally, far-right figures including MEP Jordan Bardella attempted to discredit the legal process and cast the party as a victim of a politically motivated campaign. As some early commentators suggested, the verdict against Le Pen now appears to be serving as a launchpad for the RN’s presidential campaign ahead of 2027 – regardless of who their candidate will be.
Read more: Marine Le Pen barred from seeking public office in EU funds embezzlement case
However, the far right may have miscalculated. Footage from April 6 showed a larger crowd at the progressive rally than at the RN’s event, despite the former being organized in just a few days. Students, trade unionists, and members of various left-wing parties filled the square, expressing their determination to ensure that the far right’s attacks do not go unchallenged. Many participants described the day as only the beginning of a broader counter-mobilization.
“When the far right announces it will march through the streets, it’s bad news for democracy,” said LFI parliamentarian Manuel Bompard during the demonstration. “When it’s about stopping pension reform, protecting jobs, factories, hospitals, schools, and public services, the far right stays silent. But when it’s about defending their privileges and interests, they’re suddenly here on the streets.”
LFI MEP Manon Aubry added that the RN’s reaction to the ruling only reaffirmed its position within the global far-right bloc threatening democracy and social rights. Progressive leaders noted the party’s double standards: while the RN usually pushes for harsher sentencing and a tough approach to crime, it refuses to accept its own legal accountability. “They are hypocrites on all counts,” Bompard and his colleagues concluded, adding that the RN’s constructed image of respectability – crafted to legitimize its presence in the National Assembly – is quickly falling apart.
“The RN is a dangerous party for democracy and the rule of law,” Bompard warned, urging the public to join future anti-far right demonstrations, especially the upcoming mass mobilization on May 1.
