As the votes continue to be counted following France’s hard fought election, pockets of civil unrest have dampened the victory celebrations of The New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance formed at the last minute to fight the election, who exit polls predict have won the most seats.
No party appears to have won a majority, but with Marine Le Pen, the co-leader of the National Rally with Jordan Bardella, has refused to admit defeat, as she defiantly told reports in her party’s “victory has only been delayed”, and she “sees the seeds of tomorrow’s victory in today’s result”.
With the election result polarising many citizens all across France, a mixture of reactions at both sides of the political divide have been causing chaos for residents in the European nation.
In the French capital Paris, riot police were deployed along with members of the fire brigade, to extinguish bikes that had been set alight following the closure of the polls, with images taken at the Place de la République showing objects aflame and officers in full riot protection gear.
However, just mere yards away, the BBC reports that the mood was not violent but jubilant, with many citizens celebrating the latest results and setting off fireworks while also scaling the iconic statue of France’s beloved Marianne, the Republic’s personification of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Meanwhile, in Nantes, Western France, thousands of people have also begun taking to the streets to protest the results, and while largely non-violent so far, police have deployed tear gas to help quell any rising tensions and disperse crowds amid the pockets of unrest.
