Paris is hosting a major march against anti-Semitism on Sunday afternoon, in which part of the French radical left will not take part, to protest against the presence of the far right.
This march must be a response to the explosion of hostility against Jews in France since the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7 and the Israeli military response that followed.
Further demonstrations and parades are planned in the rest of the country.
In a letter published by daily Le Parisien, French President Emmanuel Macron called for unity and said the fight against anti-Semitism “must never divide us or ever result in some of our compatriots being pitted against others.”
However, the participation of the right-wing extremist National Rally (RN) in these events is causing a stir.
French government spokesman Olivier Véran castigated “a political party founded by the heirs of Vichy,” citing its history of collaboration with the Nazis during World War II.
For her part, RN leader and former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen believes that the march should “bring the French together” to reject both anti-Semitism and “Islamist fundamentalism, which is a totalitarian ideology.”
Another far-right party, Reconquest, must also be there.
The radical left-wing formation La France insoumise (LFI), which is accused of being unclear about anti-Semitism, will boycott the demonstration due to the presence of the RN. However, some members should join other initiatives in Paris or elsewhere in France.
Still on the left, Europe Écologie-Les Verts, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party must march behind the same banner “against anti-Semitism and all perpetrators of hatred and racism”, in a “republican cordon” in the face of the far right. They want to physically separate the extreme right from the rest of the demonstration.
Many religious representatives will also be present, but the number of Muslims is expected to be small. Several organizations regret that there is no mention of Islamophobia in the call for the demonstration.