Thousands protest Hollande's 1st year
Source: AFP |
May 6, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TENS of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Paris yesterday to mark Socialist President Francois Hollande's first year in office by accusing him of turning his back on the left.
On the eve of the anniversary of Hollande's May 6 win last year over right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy, the Communist-backed Left Front gathered supporters for a march starting at the Bastille, the iconic square of the French Revolution.
Many were also expected to gather for separate protests in Paris and other cities to oppose the government's plans to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples.
The demonstrations come with polls showing Hollande as the most unpopular president in modern French history. Many voters are angered by an economy on the edge of recession and unemployment hitting a 16-year high.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the Left Front's firebrand candidate in last year's vote, called the protest in Paris last month at the height of a scandal over Hollande's ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac being charged with tax fraud.
Melenchon, who said he expected 100,000 to attend the rally, told the crowd the Socialist government had betrayed its supporters on the left.
"We do not want the world of finance in power! We do not accept the politics of austerity!" Melenchon told protesters waving the red flags of left-wing movements.
In an interview yesterday with newspaper Le Parisien, Melenchon called on Hollande to "return to the left, where he was when he was elected."
He accused Hollande of contributing to Europe's economic crisis by focusing on "the interests of shareholders, of big business and of European austerity policies, to the detriment of the workers."
Melenchon also called for a government reshuffle.
On the eve of the anniversary of Hollande's May 6 win last year over right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy, the Communist-backed Left Front gathered supporters for a march starting at the Bastille, the iconic square of the French Revolution.
Many were also expected to gather for separate protests in Paris and other cities to oppose the government's plans to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples.
The demonstrations come with polls showing Hollande as the most unpopular president in modern French history. Many voters are angered by an economy on the edge of recession and unemployment hitting a 16-year high.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the Left Front's firebrand candidate in last year's vote, called the protest in Paris last month at the height of a scandal over Hollande's ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac being charged with tax fraud.
Melenchon, who said he expected 100,000 to attend the rally, told the crowd the Socialist government had betrayed its supporters on the left.
"We do not want the world of finance in power! We do not accept the politics of austerity!" Melenchon told protesters waving the red flags of left-wing movements.
In an interview yesterday with newspaper Le Parisien, Melenchon called on Hollande to "return to the left, where he was when he was elected."
He accused Hollande of contributing to Europe's economic crisis by focusing on "the interests of shareholders, of big business and of European austerity policies, to the detriment of the workers."
Melenchon also called for a government reshuffle.
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