Paris: Demonstrators clashed with protesters in the French city of Rennes on Thursday in the latest rally against a right-wing surge ahead of national elections this month.
The rally ended after dozens of young protesters threw bottles and other objects at the police, who responded with tear gas.
The regional prefecture said that seven arrests were made among about 80 people who took place in front of the march from the city center.
The rally was called by the labor union against the far-right National Rally Party, which was intended to win a landslide in the legislative elections. The first round of draws will be held on June 30.
Historically, there has been a blood feud between them and us, Fabrice Le Restif, regional head of the FO union, one of the organizers. rally, told AFP news agency.
Political tensions increased when a 12-year-old Jewish girl was allegedly raped by a 13-year-old boy in the suburbs of Paris. The national rally came amid political parties condemning the attack.
In the latest reaction, several hundred people protested against anti-Semitism and “rape culture” in Paris.
Dominique Sopo, president of the anti-racism group SOS Racisme, said it was “an anti-Semitic crime that drains our blood”.
Hundreds of people protested in Paris and Lyon on Wednesday amid outrage over the attack.
The girl told police that a 12- to 13-year-old boy approached her in a park near her home in Courbevoie, Paris, police sources said.
The suspect beat her and forced her to have sex, a police source told AFP.
France has the largest Jewish community of any country outside of Israel and the United States.
At Thursday’s demonstration, Arie Alimi, a lawyer campaigning against police brutality and vice president of the French Human Rights League, said voters must prevent the far right from seizing power.
He also said he was saddened to hear “anti-Semitic rhetoric from some professed people on the left.”
President Emmanuel Macron called the election after the far-right overthrew his centrist coalition in the European Union elections. Right-wing and left-wing groups accuse each other of being anti-Semitic.
French rally against far-right ends in clashes
