Ahead of the second round of voting in France’s parliamentary elections, more than 50 candidates and their backers have been subjected to assaults.
Gerald Darmanin, the Interior Minister, disclosed that politicians representing various ideologies had encountered both verbal and physical aggression, often occurring while they were erecting campaign posters.
During an interview with BFM, he highlighted that some of the assaults were “extremely grave”, overshadowing the three-week campaign period with violence that led to several victims being hospitalized.
Mentioning the reinforced police presence for Sunday’s election, he cautioned about the potential for “emergence of violent incidents”.
Currently, approximately 30 suspects from diverse backgrounds have been apprehended – including candidates from the far-right National Rally and leftist politicians as victims.
Tensions have remained elevated following President Emmanuel Macron‘s unexpected call for the elections on 9 June subsequent to a significant defeat against the National Rally in the European parliamentary polls.
In the initial round of the election on 30 June, under the leadership of Jordan Bardella, the National Rally secured the highest number of votes.
However, their support was inadequate to secure an outright triumph enabling them to establish France’s first far-right administration since World War II.
The outcome of Sunday’s election will determine whether the anti-immigrant faction attains an absolute legislative majority – a groundbreaking development in France – mirroring broader trends in Europe.
Mr. Darmanin confirmed that 30,000 police officers will be on duty on Sunday, with 5,000 assigned in the Paris vicinity.
Gatherings outside the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, have been prohibited.
However, a faction named Antifascist Action Paris-Suburbs has urged for a demonstration outside the premises on Sunday evening coinciding with the announcement of the results.