As we broadcast from Paris, we examine political turmoil in France, where it has been less than five months since the centrist political figure Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen to become France’s youngest president ever. While Macron won in a landslide, opinion polls show most French voters now oppose how he has governed. On Saturday, leftist opposition leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon led up to 150,000 people in a protest against Macron and his attempt to rewrite France’s labor law. Meanwhile, human rights groups are criticizing Macron for pushing a new anti-terror law that would make permanent key parts of France’s state of emergency, which went into effect after the 2015 Paris attacks. “The situation in France is highly volatile, both socially, economically and politically,” says our guest Yasser Louati, a French human rights and civil rights activist.
TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: We’re broadcasting from UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. We begin today’s show looking at the political turmoil here in France. It’s been less than five months since the centrist political figure Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen to become France’s youngest president ever. While Macron won in a landslide, opinion polls show most French voters now oppose how he’s governed. On Saturday, the leftist opposition leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon led up to 150,000 people in a protest against Macron and his attempt to rewrite France’s labor law.
JEAN-LUC MÉLENCHON: [translated] We have now been told that democracy doesn’t happen in the street. Mr. President, you’ll need to take a look at French history to learn that it was the street that brought down the king. It was the street that brought down the Nazis.
PROTESTERS: Résistance! Résistance! Résistance!
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, human rights groups are criticizing Macron for pushing a new anti-terror law that would make permanent key parts of France’s state of emergency, which went into effect two years ago. Critics of the legislation…