Republican News · Thursday 25 April 2002

Le Pen profits as Left splits

Thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris and other French cities- including Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier, Grenoble, Strasbourg and Clermont-Ferrand- late on Sunday 21 April, protesting National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen's progression to the run-off election for French president.

Young people, many representing France's disheartened Socialist and Communist parties, gathered at the Place de la Republique in central Paris to show their displeasure.

"I am ashamed to be French," read several of the hastily written signs carried aloft by protesters. They chanted "first, second, third generation - we are all immigrants!" Some carried campaign signs for `Lionel Jospin, the Socialist Prime Minister so sensationally outpolled by Le Pen.

Le Pen, who virulently opposes immigration and is known for his racist and anti-Semitic agenda, qualified on Sunday to face incumbent Jacques Chirac in the runoff for French president, dealing a stunning blow to Jospin, whose third-place finish defied all predictions. A shocked Jospin announced he would retire from political life immediately after the presidential election, which ends with the 5 May runoff.

"I plainly assume responsibility for this failure," Jospin said in a choked voice. "And I draw the conclusions," he continued, "in withdrawing from political life after the end of the presidential election."

First round turnout was 72 percent - the lowest in four decades. The balloting pared a wildly diverse field of 16 candidates down to two. With 99.33 percent of the vote counted, the Interior Ministry said Chirac had 5,470,980 votes or 19.62 percent. Le Pen had 4,762,596 votes, or 17.08 percent. Jospin had 4,472,963, or 16.04 percent.

Polls show Chirac is virtually certain to win re-election by a landslide. Chirac called on all French citizens unite to defeat Le Pen in the second round and th Socialists have already called on their supporters to back Chirac against Le Pen.

"I call on all French men and women to gather up to defend human rights," Chirac said in a sombre speech that expressed no joy at coming in first. "At risk is our national cohesion, the values of the Republic. France needs you, and I need you."

Many saw Le Pen's astonishing result as a reflection of a deep voter apathy and disaffection with the two major candidates, seen as too old, too familiar and too similar. Neither Chirac nor Jospin was able to connect with the electorate during a campaign dismissed by most as boring.

Le Pen, 73, is founder and head of the National Front party, which historically has blamed immigrants, especially from North Africa, for high unemployment and urban violence. He is notorious for once describing the Holocaust as "a detail" of history. He has denied he is anti-Semitic.

Le Pen's success is sure to cause concern in other European countries like Germany and Italy, where governments are also coping with anti-immigrant sentiment.

For France, it is deeply embarrassing. France strongly supported a campaign to impose sanctions against Austria in February 2000 for including the ultra-right Freedom Party in its government.

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Support for Palestine on Washington streets

The spring meeting of world financial powers at the World Bank and IMF brought the protesters to Washington, but anti-globalisation forces did not seem to mind sharing the stage with other causes. Upwards of 75,000 people marched and rallied Washington DC on Saturday 20 April in opposition to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the "war at home and abroad" - a reference to the war in Afghanistan and in Colombia - racism and discrimination -especially against US migrants and citizens of Arabic origin - and in opposition to corporate globalisation.

Police said the turnout was larger than expected. Protesters rallying at the Capitol were an eclectic crowd, mixing young communists, Black Panthers and "Raging Grannies", who carried banners saying "Drop debt, not bombs" and wore T-shirts proclaiming "We are all Palestinians".

"I think the movement is beginning to wake up," said 80-year-old Valerie Mullen of Vershire, Vermont, part of the "grannies" group. She said she came to protest "any war".

All three major themes were addressed in their own respective "feeder marches" in the morning but it was the fighting in the occupied territories of Palestine that captured the attention of the day and organisers dubbed the protest as the largest domestic showing of solidarity with Palestinians in US history.

"I have been living in the US for 25 years and I pay taxes, and I don't expect my money to go to killing my people," explained Fatina, a Palestinian mother of four who brought her colourfully dressed children in traditional Palestinian garb along with her to the protest. Fatina's sentiments were commonly shared by protesters from a diverse array of backgrounds, as Hajie Tunkara from the West African country of Gambia said: "We want our tax dollars to be used wisely and instead, the US is using our money to butcher Muslims in Palestine. Look at Jenin," a reference to the refugee camp recently bulldozed and pillaged by the Israeli Defence Forces, resulting in dozens and maybe even hundreds of civilian Palestinian deaths - 23 Israeli soldiers were also killed.

In addition to the Palestinian solidarity demonstration organised by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Palestine, there were two other "feeder marches". One was organised by the Mobilisation for Global Justice (MGJ), which stopped in front of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund headquarters, where world financial powers were meeting. A 30-foot-tall inflated Earth bearing a "For Sale" sign and the Citibank logo was erected.

About 61 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday -19 and 20 April- on minor charges At least 25 people were arrested in Washington for unlawfully entering an underground parking garage and using it as a sleeping area for the weekend demonstrations, said police spokesman Quintin Peterson. All were released from jail, according to the legal team for activists. Nobody was arrested on Sunday 21 April. However, some activists reported that they experienced police misconduct.