They marched through the narrow streets of Lyon’s medieval old town, about three dozen of them, emboldened after the French far-right gains in the European elections, reports The Guardian.
Masks covering their faces, they wound past the hidden passageways that provided cover for the resistance during the second world war, chanting: “We are fucking Nazis” and “Islam out of Europe”.
For some in this French city, last week’s far-right demonstration, captured on video, was a chilling reminder of just how much is at stake in the snap parliamentary elections that could see the French far-right lead government.
“The consequences would be catastrophic,” said Kamel Kabtane, the head of the French Institute of Muslim Civilisation, founded in 2017 to promote intercultural dialogue in Lyon. “For France, for all of the citizens of this country and, in particular, for the Muslim community.”
Polls suggest the far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) is on course to win the elections but will fall short of a majority. “We’re up against those who object to our very presence in this country,” said Kabtane in his office at the institute, located in the city’s tree-lined outskirts. “And they’ll do everything they can to make life difficult for us.”
France is home to one of Europe’s largest Muslim populations, with an estimated 6 million people who practise Islam or have a Muslim background. The community also ranks among Europe’s most established, with families who have spent as many as five generations carving out lives that blend French and Muslim traditions.
Kabtane was among those who began sounding the alarm bells, rallying Muslims to vote in the snap elections, after the European parliamentary ballot saw RN garner more than 30% of the vote in France. “[RN’s] discourse is built on foreigners, immigrants and on the practice of Islam in France,” he said.