France to deploy 30,000 police officers for Sunday’s election

Antifascist Action has already called for a demonstration against the extreme right on Sunday “regardless of the result”

4 Jul. () –

France’s government has ordered the deployment of some 30,000 police officers across the country ahead of Sunday’s election amid fears of unrest following the second round of elections in which Marine Le Pen’s ultra-nationalist National Rally could emerge victorious.

“It is a very large police force to ensure that the far left or the far right do not take advantage of the result to instigate chaos that could lead to new riots,” said the current French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, during an interview with France 2 radio station.

Darmanin had already warned last week of possible unrest in the country after the first round of elections. Once it became known that the National Rally had won more than 33 percent of the vote, left-wing and far-left groups gathered in the streets of Paris against the extreme right.

The government has now prepared a measure to prevent violent incidents. Some 5,000 police officers are expected to be deployed in Paris and its surrounding areas alone.

In fact, the Paris-Suburbs Antifascist Action group has already called on the population to demonstrate on Sunday at 8 p.m. in front of the National Assembly in Paris “regardless of the result.” “Let us unite by all means against the far right and its allies,” reads a post on its social networks.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won the first round of Sunday’s legislative elections, followed by the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (28.1%) and President Emmanuel Macron’s Together coalition (21.2%).

The latter two have withdrawn dozens of their candidates in numerous constituencies in order to avoid taking away support from each other and to try to offer a ‘useful vote’ against the extreme right. The National Group has taken advantage of this to warn of an alleged alliance between Macronists and the far left.