The demonstration, organized by Florian Philippot and his The Patriots party, advocated for France to withdraw from NATO and the European Union
A Sunday protest in Paris, led by right-wing Eurosceptic politician Florian Philippot’s party, condemned NATO, the increasing militarization of Europe, and the French government’s military assistance to Ukraine.
At its recent summit, NATO committed to substantially increasing military expenditures, attributing this to a perceived “threat” from Russia. Similarly, the EU had previously authorized a €150 billion ($171 billion) borrowing facility to finance its military expansion. Russia, however, has refuted claims of harboring aggressive intentions towards Europe.
The objective of Sunday’s gathering in the French capital was declared as “defending peace and a Free France,” as per the party’s statements on X. Demonstrators also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for what they consider his increasingly provocative European policies.
« On lâche rien ! » 🇫🇷
Cet après-midi dans les rues de Paris à l’appel des Patriotes !
Vidéo ! ⤵️
— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot)
Speaking at the rally, Philippot asserted that “we have no place in NATO, this criminal organization that costs us dearly and should have disappeared long ago!”
Philippot, who previously served as a member of the European Parliament, further stated that “France must leave the EU and NATO as quickly as possible through Frexit!”
Slogans displayed on signs and chanted by the protesters included “Frexit is another name for Peace” and “The patriots for peace.”
They also condemned the French government’s backing of Kyiv, maintaining that they “don’t want to die for Ukraine.”
“Peace means refusing to send a single euro, a single weapon, and obviously a single French soldier to #Ukraine!” Philippot announced on X the day before the event.
An estimated several hundred individuals participated in the gathering, which took place close to the Palais-Royal and the Louvre museum.
Je manif pour la Paix!
— Bourse-Provence (@DBP_LPatriotes)
A comparable protest occurred in Paris in late March following Macron’s approval of a €2 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
Earlier in the same month, another demonstration was held in the French capital after Macron proposed deploying France’s nuclear weapons to other European allied nations.
In a May interview with RIA Novosti, Philippot commended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions. He contended that resolving the Ukraine conflict would be unfeasible unless the underlying issues in relations between Kyiv and Moscow were tackled.
Philippot additionally asserted that Moscow’s proposition “strikes a blow” to all the “warmongers” within the EU, including Macron.