“Save Ukraine”, “Putin’s Killer”. Under yellow and blue flags, 41,600 demonstrators marched this Saturday in France to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and say “no war in Europe,” according to the Interior Ministry.
On the tenth day of the offensive, on the orders of the President of Russia, according to police headquarters, 16,000 people marched in Paris between Place de la République and Place de la Bastille, chanting “Putin, your war, we don’t want it.” Just over a month before the presidential election, environmentalist Yannick Jadot and socialist Anne Hidalgo took part in the rally, while Stanislas Guerini, leader of the LREM presidential party, also called on people to join the procession to “show our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, adding, that France will continue to accept refugees and “supply weapons” to Ukraine.
“We will be there every weekend, in Paris or wherever, until Mr. Putin leaves and withdraws his tanks,” said Aline Le Bay-Kremer, a member of Stand With Ukraine, one of the organizations organized at the initiative of the rally in the capital . . “It is very important to be here,” said protester Bernard Arnault, 47, wearing a Ukrainian-colored blue suit and yellow shirt. “Mr. Putin is so unpredictable. I will return as soon as possible,” he added in the middle of the posters “Stop the war”, “Killer Putin” or “Save Ukraine”.
“Despite the suffering, we will win, we are sure of it,” said Natalia, a French-Ukrainian who did not want to give her name to protect her son, who remained in her country. “We are proud of their courage, their determination.”
Strong mobilization in Rennes
At the national level, the Ministry of the Interior counted 119 congregations. In Lyon, several hundred people gathered at Place Bellecour to express their support for President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people, who have been bombed by the Moscow army in several cities. “This is an attack on democracy, on freedom. We see that there is no ceasefire, negotiations are not moving forward, so I am very pessimistic,” said 45-year-old Sebastien Murren.
“Close the Ukrainian skies,” “prevent a nuclear catastrophe,” demanded the demonstrators—2,000 people according to the prefecture—in Rennes. Among the 500 demonstrators, according to the prefecture, gathered at the Old Port in Marseille, Natalia, a 56-year-old Ukrainian woman who prefers not to give her last name, launched an appeal for donations to help the population. “We first of all need gloves, hats and medicines for our soldiers,” she said, calling on NATO countries to “close the skies over Ukraine.”
“Stop the slaughter, save Ukraine!” “: About 850 people gathered on Saturday afternoon in the center of Lille, according to the prefecture, to “support the Ukrainians” and call for the withdrawal of Russian troops. “Nato, cover our sky!” “(NATO Protect Our Sky), ‘Putin, Hands Off My House’ (Putin, Get Your Hands Off My House),” many demonstrators demanded on placards, among dozens of Ukrainian flags, cheeks sometimes painted yellow and blue.
Demonstrations across Europe
New rallies in support of Ukraine are planned for this weekend across Europe. From London to Rome or Zurich, thousands of demonstrators again took to the streets of major European cities this Saturday to say “stop” to the war and protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous city, several tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate under the slogan “Peace Now” at the call of the trade unions and, in particular, the leftist parties. There were, according to the organizers, more than 40,000 people. The police did not give the number.
In Rome, at the call of several trade unions and many non-governmental organizations, thousands of “peace march” gathered. In London, a crowd of several hundred people gathered in Trafalgar Square holding signs reading “Putin is killing” and “Total embargo against Russia” and shouting “Stop Putin, stop the war!” “. More than a thousand people gathered in Zagreb with posters “Stop the war, save Europe” and “Glory to Ukraine.”