French far right protests ahead of presidential vote

On Saturday, protests were expected around France as opponents of the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen tried to form a united front to prevent her from winning the election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on April 24.

As demonstrators convened in 30 cities, the police warned of possible incidents.

Macron, a pro-EU centrist, won the presidency in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him in the runoff to keep the far right out of power.

The first round of voting set up the same battle this year, but Macron is facing a much tougher challenge.

He is slightly ahead in opinion polls but before the first round on April 10, Le Pen successfully tapped into anger over the cost of living and the perception that Macron is disconnected from everyday hardships. She won 23.1% of the vote, compared to 27.85% for Macron.

She has appeared more rattled this week as the focus turned to her programme, and opinion polls show that Macron extends his lead. The president won the runoff with 56% of the vote, according to an Ipsos-Sopra- Steria poll on Friday.

He has backing from the former presidents Fran ois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy. Hundreds of celebrities and sporting figures have endorsed him to block Le Pen coming to power.

Le Pen, whose stance is anti-immigration and Eurosceptic, has tried to soften her image and that of her National Rally party in recent years. The opposition to the programme, including Macron, has said it is full of lies and false promises that Le Pen has rejected.

The far right is again in the second round of the presidential election, strengthened by a level of support never seen before. We refuse to see it win power," France s Human Rights League said in a joint statement announcing the protests co-signed by dozens of other rights groups, unions and associations.

Le Pen, speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in southern France, dismissed the planned protests as undemocratic.

She said the establishment is worried. The fact that people are protesting against election results is deeply undemocratic. I say to all of these people to go and vote. The election, with the electorate being divided and undecided, will likely be won by the candidate who can convince voters that the other option would be far worse.

For decades a Republican front of voters rallying behind a mainstream candidate has helped keep the far right out of power.

Macron, whose sometimes abrasive style and policies have upset many voters, can no longer count on that backing.

Climate change activists in Extinction Rebellion protested against the environmental programmes of both candidates, closing a main square in central Paris on Saturday.

This election leaves us no choice between a far-right candidate with repugnant ideas and a candidate who has lied and cast aside the issue of the environment for five years, said Lou, 26, a history teacher who joined the environmentalist movement two years ago.

Anti-Macron protesters will gather in Paris on Saturday.