Thousands gathered Sunday afternoon in Paris for a march against Islamophobia that has markedly divided the French political class in recent days, reports FRANCE 24.
“Yes to criticism of religion, no to hatred of believers”, “Stop Islamophobia” and “Co-existing is crucial,” read some of the signs held aloft at the demonstration, as marchers set off from the Gare du Nord train station in the French capital on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
“Solidarity with veiled women”, some in the crowd chanted.
French media on Sunday evening estimated the number of participants in Paris at around 13,500.
The rally – held at the initiative of a number of leftwing political organisations including the New Anticapitalist Party and groups including the Collective Against Islamophobia in France – was called for by the left-leaning daily Libération in an editorial on November 1st, four days after a man attacked a mosque in Bayonne and amid the flare of renewed debate over Muslim women wearing the veil in public establishments like schools.
But the march drew criticism from the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally), formerly the Front National, which accused organisers of forming an alliance with “Islamists”. It also spurred divisions among political parties on the Left.
Some critics questioned “the very definition" of Islamophobia, said FRANCE 24’s Alison Sargent, reporting from the march in central Paris. Some say “that they feel 'Islamophobia' means that you are not allowed to criticise Islam as a religion".