The presence of the far right at the major demonstration organized in Paris this Sunday fuels tensions and seems to trap parliamentarians in the initiative.
Who will be at the big march against anti-Semitism this Sunday in Paris? The question takes up all the space and occupies the minds of all political party leaderships this week: more than a month after the Hamas terrorist attack and after weeks of deadly Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip, life French politics is still absorbed by the war. The worrying rise in anti-Semitism, with more than a thousand acts recorded in just one month since the start of the conflict, is creating a climate of tension and concerns about a form of importation of the conflict.
An initiative was therefore launched by Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, and Gérard Larcher, president of the Senate, in a joint column published in Le Figaro on November 7. Both launched a call for a major civic march against anti-Semitism, planned for Sunday, November 12, between the Palais-Bourbon, the seat of the Assembly, and the Palais du Luxembourg, the seat of the Senate.
Ms. Braun-Pivet and Mr. Larcher want “a march for the France of human rights and for the united nation. A march of citizens to denounce the bearers of hatred. A march for the release of the hostages [in Gaza], including eight of our compatriots.
This initiative was welcomed by many political figures of the majority, including Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne, as well as by unions and representatives of religions, including the CRIF.
The National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, very quickly announced its participation in the march, as did Eric Zemmour and Marion Maréchal, the two major figures of Reconquest. This presence of the far right obviously creates a stir and puts other political parties in a form of embarrassment. At least they must all position themselves in the face of this situation which completes the normalization and recognition of Marine Le Pen’s training.
The president of the Macronist Renaissance party, Stéphane Séjourné, quickly expressed his reservations: “Renaissance will be present on Sunday for the big march against anti-Semitism. However, I will never march behind the same banner as the RN”, said he indicated on Twitter, signifying a form of discomfort. But Elisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister, will be present, at the head of the procession.
The government still sent a message of clarification on the subject, through its spokesperson. “The RN has no place in this march,” said Olivier Véran. “The National Rally, through the voice of its president Jordan Bardella, had the opportunity a few days ago to make the choice, to cut with its history, with the anti-Semitic roots of this far-right party,” he said. -he advanced Wednesday at midday, recalling that the president of the RN judged that Jean-Marie Le Pen was not anti-Semitic.
The Socialist Party, which described the RN’s participation as “illegitimate”, still called for people to join the march. The president of LR, Eric Ciotti, also judged in a press briefing at the National Assembly that “it was necessary for all Republicans to shout out their desire to oppose with the greatest energy this resurgence, this rise of totally unbearable anti-Semitism. The PCF will not march in Paris, and intends to organize an alternative demonstration, to show its support for the initiative.
France Insoumise, for its part, officially made it known that it would not participate in the march. “What hypocrisy to claim to denounce anti-Semitism alongside political leaders who constantly use everyone’s religion as a pretext to make it a subject of shameful discrimination,” LFI castigated in a press release.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had earlier severely criticized this initiative, describing it as a demonstration of support for the government of Israel: “The friends of unconditional support for the massacre have their meeting,” he wrote on Twitter.
The organizers of the march have announced that Yaël Braun-Pivet and Gérard Larcher will march in the lead on Sunday, but the rest of the parade will be citizen, without speaking. The presence of Emmanuel Macron remains uncertain.
