Protests against hard-Right turn violent in France

French police clashed with protesters in Rennes and Paris on Saturday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in marches against the hard-Right.

Police in Rennes deployed tear gas against black-clad protesters who appeared to throw projectiles towards their lines.

Paris authorities reported “numerous attempts at damage”, with at least one person being arrested.

Riot officers in the French capital reportedly used tear gas against demonstrators who tried to vandalise a bus stop.

Tens of thousands take part

Tens of thousands of Left-wing marchers took to the streets to protest against the hard-Right, who are on course to win snap elections later this month.

In Paris, demonstrators set off from the Place de La Republique, in the east of the city before marching on to the Bastille square.

Holding banners that read “Liberty for all, Equality for all and Fraternity with all”, the protesters were mobilised by labour unions, student groups and NGOs to protest against the country’s anti-migration National Rally.

Ahead of the first round of voting for a new parliament on June 30th, the National Rally are leading on 30 per cent, one point ahead of a new Left-wing coalition called the Popular Front.

‘We need a democratic and social upsurge’

President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renew party is trailing in third on 18 per cent.

“We need a democratic and social upsurge. If not the extreme right will take power,’’ French unions said in a statement Friday. “Our Republic and our democracy are in danger.’‘

In Nice on the the French Riviera protesters marched down Jean Médecin Avenue, the city’s main shopping street, chanting against the National Rally, as well as against Mr Macron.

Some 150 protests were organised across the country, with large marches taking place in Marseilles, Toulouse, and Lyon.

French police said that 21,000 officers had been mobilised to ensure security at the rallies, with several hundred thousand people expected to take part across the country.

Macron called snap election

Mr Macron called a snap legislative election after suffering a heavy defeat to Marine Le Pen’s party at last Sunday’s EU election.

In the EU vote, Ms Le Pen’s hard-Right party took in almost double the votes that Mr Macron’s party mustered.

The French president has urged voters to stick to the centre lashing out at “unnatural alliances at both extremes... who will not be able to implement any program.”

Mr Macron will remain president until 2027 even if his Renew party loses the vote, the second round of which will be held in July.

However, his presidency would be severely weakened if the National Rally were to take control of the government and legislative policy.

Following Mr Macron’s surprise decision to call a snap election, the country’s former Socialist president Francois Hollande announced he would run for parliament again.

Mr Hollande, who was France’s president from 2012-2017, left office with record levels of unpopularity. He is hated by parts of the radical left.

He said he would stand as an MP for the southwestern Correze department for the New Popular Front, a left-wing grouping formed for the elections that includes the Socialists, hard-left, Greens and Communists.

“An exceptional decision for an exceptional situation,” Mr Hollande told reporters in the department’s main town of Tulle, explaining his surprise comeback.

“I am not seeking anything for myself,” he insisted, after a flurry of recent media appearances sparked speculation he might be eyeing a run for the presidency.

“I just want to be of service.”