Thousands of people marched peacefully through Orléans on Saturday to protest against the far-right National Rally as the party held its congress a few kilometres away, with demonstrators calling for solidarity and voicing their concerns about 2027.
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Saturday's march drew 13,000 people, according to the prefecture, while organisers put the turnout at 26,000. Families, trade unionists and left-wing politicians joined the procession, which dispersed without incident in the early afternoon.
Authorities had deployed nearly 3,000 police officers and gendarmes amid fears of violence, placing the city centre under tight security. But demonstrators described a friendly atmosphere, with many saying that coming together helped ease their anxiety about the far right’s prospects.
“It’s important for us to be here, to turn out in large numbers, and that reassures us,” said one protester, Marine Pons, who had come to “voice her fears”.
“This is the second time the far right has been on the verge of winning, and I’m afraid for 2027. But we want to stop being afraid.”
Orléans tightens security ahead of far-right National Rally party congress
Families turn out for solidarity
For several participants, concern for their children’s future was a powerful reason to march.
“I never expected the RN to be in Orléans one day; it frightens me, especially for my children,” José, 56, who attended with his daughter.
“I’m from an immigrant background, and frankly, I don’t want a country run by them.”
Fouad, 30, said he wanted to challenge racism through peaceful protest.
“I’m of Moroccan origin, so I’m pretty much everything that fascists and racists hate in France,” he said. “We’re supposed to be a united community, but we can see that’s not the case for some people. Today, we want to make our voices heard and counter this in a peaceful way.”
Marchers chanted slogans including “Macron resign, Le Pen in prison”, while some placards challenged the RN’s use of Joan of Arc as a patriotic symbol.
“You will reclaim neither the maiden on fire nor her city,” read one sign, referring to the “Maid of Orléans”, who helped lift the English siege of the city in 1429 during the Hundred Years’ War.
Several left-wing politicians attended, including Bally Bagayoko, the France Unbowed mayor of Saint-Denis, and Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh.
Both accused the RN of xenophobia and of stoking tensions following an attack that killed one person and injured five others, which President Emmanuel Macron described as “racist”.
Rabeh criticised RN leaders Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen for portraying Trappes as “Kabul” or an “Islamist republic”, arguing that such rhetoric could encourage someone to believe they should wage war against it.
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Peaceful protest continues
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure stressed that demonstrators were not seeking to prevent the RN from meeting.
“No one” was stopping the party “from holding its congress”, he said, while accusing it of responsibility for a climate that had been “toxic, racist and xenophobic for a very long time”.
“We are not going to attempt a forceful takeover of the RN’s congress,” Faure added, describing the protest as a symbolic reminder of the dangers he associated with the far right.
CGT trade union leader Sophie Binet also sharply criticised the RN, calling it a movement “that will never be like the others”.
“It is a party that is dangerous for our democracy and our Republic; it is a racist, anti-Semitic and sexist party,” she said.
After the march, participants headed towards an “anti-fascist village” in a former cloister near the cathedral. Organisers expected around 4,000 people for round-table discussions and association stalls, with concerts planned for the evening.
Meanwhile, at the RN congress a few kilometres away, party activists re-elected Bardella as president on Saturday afternoon. He was the sole candidate.
(with newswires)