Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

May Day Rallies in France Protest Le Pen

Aired May 01, 2002 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: May Day rallies across France today focussed on this Sunday's presidential run off, and surging far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. Our Chris Burns is in Paris today with the latest on this political surprise.

Chris, hello.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Big surprise, Daryn. If Jean- Marie Le Pen did anything to politics here, he recharged what had been an apathetic political electorate. Just take a look over my shoulder, an amazing -- this is just the tip iceberg. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets here in Paris today. Police estimating 400,000, other estimates putting it much higher. Across France, more than 1.2 million French took to the streets with banners, some saying "block the road to fascism," "Le Pen equals Hitler," "such a beautiful country can't be fascist."

But they are also carrying signs saying "don't vote for the super fascist, vote for the super liar." There is a poll saying that more than half of the electorate who will vote for President Jacques Chirac in this Sunday election will not be necessarily voting for him, they are going to be voting against Jean-Marie Le Pen. So the bigger vote that goes for Chirac could could ironically show, perhaps, a bigger vote for others who oppose Chirac and that will oppose him in the parliament election next month. So stay tuned, there is going to be more politics going on in the coming weeks.

At the same time, of course, Le Pen had his traditional May Day demonstration today. Police estimated about 10,000 people, other estimates put it in the tens of thousands. Le Pen ranting and raving, not only at the Euro currency, at the European Union he wants to get out of, but also criticizing the Catholic Church. The Church having called him on using biblical citations in some of his speeches. They are telling him, don't even think about that any more.

Le Pen coming back and referring to what he calls Marxist bishops. That could be -- that could cost him quite a few votes among traditionalists who had voted for him in the first round, this being a very, very heavy Catholic country. Of course, Le Pen also attacking Chirac as what he calls the "super liar."

Ironically, there is sort of a parallel between some of the people here in this demonstration and Le Pen, accusing Chirac of -- he has -- there are corruption charges that he is trying to fight off right now. So a lot of French here saying they are vote with plastic gloves and hold their noses, and vote for Chirac just to keep Le Pen from coming to power, but not necessarily because they like Chirac.

Now the protest right now here is starting -- will be starting to break up in the next hour or so. The question is, will there be violent clashes with police, as there had been in past May Day demonstrations.

Now, some people say that if there is violence, that could play into the hands of Le Pen, who has appealed to voters, 17 percent of those who voted for him in the first round said that they backed him because of his anti-immigration, anti-crime stance, and that violence could actually play into Le Pen's hands, so that's why, up until now anyway, the protest has been extremely peaceful.

Multi-ethnic, multi-age, a very broad sense of solidarity here today, in many words here, people saying they are defending not only -- not only the political system and not only the Republic, but also criticizing Le Pen for his anti-immigration policies and so forth -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, Chris, you make a good point in that hate him or support him, Le Pen seemed to have revitalized politics in that country, and a lot of people are pointing out that apathy was the situation that let him sweep in there in primaries in the first place.

Chris Burns in Paris. Chris, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com