Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in France on Saturday in a major breakthrough for the anti-racist movement.

　　There were 100,000 in the streets of Paris, 10,000 in Marseille, 7,000 in Lyon, 5,000 in Toulouse, 4,000 in Rennes, 3,000 in Saint-Etienne, 2,500 in Brest and 2,000 in Montpellier.

　　Anti-racists joined demonstrations in nearly 200 cities and towns, backed by nearly 600 organisations.

　　Marche des Solidarites, an anti-racist group that works with Stand Up To Racism in Britain, put out the call for the protests. It said, “We have demonstrated that the fight against racism and fascism and for equal rights for all is possible.”

　　It described the protests as “a slap in the face” to the mainstream and fascist politicians, as they occurred amid a rightward shift of French politics.

　　The government is pledging to tighten immigration policies and border controls and Marine Le Pen’s fascist RN is still topping some opinion polls.

　　The statement reads, There are moments in history where we must stand up and make our voices heard, and we are in such a moment.

　　“Through our numbers, the diversity of our march, the demonstration of unity in the struggle and the streets, we have demonstrated that we are indeed the majority.”

　　The anti-racist group denounced the police for attacking sections of the March in Paris.

　　It added that the demonstrations on Saturday are “just the beginning”. “And, for the future, we’re going to need everyone.”

　　The group is calling on anti-racists to organise anti-racist assemblies everywhere demonstrations took place.

　　The CGT union federation, the Solidaires union and Jean-Luc Melenchon’s left wing LFI party all backed the demonstrations and helped to mobilise for them.

　　The LFI said that the turnout shows “a popular unity in the streets” which “is a victory against those who seek to divide us”.

　　The CGT union federation said, “The time is not to commemorate, but to mobilise, to reject the racist discourses and practices that spread across all continents.” It slammed “the porosity between the extreme right and the top of the state”.

　　In Paris, activists held placards reading, “Fascism is gangrene from Washington to Paris,” “Against state Islamophobia,” and, “Tesla is the new swastika.”

　　At the march in Naples, protesters chanted, “We are all children of immigrants, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations.”

　　Ines Frehaut, a student taking part in her first demonstration, said some of the statements from France’s hardline conservative interior minister worried her. “When you see what Bruno Retailleau has said about Islam, Algeria and the wearing of the veil, it’s serious,” she said.

　　Evelyne Dourille, a pensioner on the Paris demonstration, said, “It’s scary because in France we see far right ideas becoming more and more commonplace, even among ministers in this government.”

　　Mass mobilisation on the streets is where the strength of the anti-fascist and anti-racist movement lies.

　　Editor: Zhong Yao  Wei Xiaoxue

　　From:https://socialistworker.co.uk/anti-racism/huge-numbers-march-against-racism-and-fascism-in-france/（2025-3-25）