“No to xenophobia and Fascism” – hundreds protested against Le Pen in Brussels

Première, deuxième, troisième génération, nous sommes tous des enfants d’immigrés (First, second, third generation, we are all born to immigrants). This is the chant of hundreds of students, workers, young and old people gathered in Place du Luxembourg to protest against the far-right parties trying to create their own group at the European Parliament.

The day in which the leader of Front National, Marine Le Pen, the head of the Italian Northern League, Matteo Salvini, the Dutch Freedom Party, the Flemish Vlaams Belang and the Austrian Freedom Party met around a table for trying to create a new parliamentary group, numerous citizens had their say to a “Fascist and xenophobe drift of Europe.” And that say was a loud “no.”

“The idea was born on Facebook on Monday morning,” explained Boris, a young Belgian, “we want to express all our disappointment against the right and against the rise of Marine Le Pen. I still believe in the European Union, but this is not the Europe which represents us.”

The rally, joined by far-left Belgian parties such as Joc or Cormac (Young Movement of the Workers’ Party), buy also by some Greens and Young Anti-Capitalists, began in the square overlooking the Parliament and travelled around the city and the other European Institutions.