In London today, Stylist gave their front page to a portrait of French fascist presidential candidate Marine le Pen, with a sticker over her mouth reading, "Warning: Contains views and policies that some modern, liberal women may find disturbing." Edgy!We showed some French anarchists the front page and here's what happened:
Lol, jk. These photos are actually from May Day in Paris. With the second round of the presidential election less than a week away, angry demonstrators fought the cops to convey a "fuck you" to Marine le Pen, Emmanuel Macron and the election in general.
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At the head of the tens of thousands of union marchers and other groups (pro-Palestine, PKK supports, refugees) a black bloc was formed by a few thousand anarchist and anti-fascists – the "Generation Ungovernables".They're angry at having to chose between a centrist former banker in Macron and Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate for the Front National – a party steeped in allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia. The "Ungovernables" reject the election in its entirety.After a year of regular clashes with police over a controversial labour law, police brutality and living under a two-year state of emergency, it didn't take long before the march devolved into some of the worst rioting in years. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, protesters threw molotov cocktails, peroxide bombs, stones and fireworks in response; 128 protesters were injured, as were a number of police, including one who was seriously burned by a molotov. After four hours things eventually calmed down, but if you wanted a snapshot of how angry the French youth are at the situation the country finds itself, then May Day 2017 was the perfect example.
