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French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a state visit to Germany, warned of the rise of far-right forces, calling it “an evil wind that is blowing in Europe,” and called on people to wake up and protect democracy. The number of protesters has decreased since two weeks before the European elections.
“Let us look at the charm of dictatorships around us, let us look at the illiberal moment we are living through,” the French head of state said in a speech during the European Youth Festival in Dresden, according to AFP and the BBC.
Macron stressed: “The evil wind of the far right blowing across Europe is a reality, so let us wake up.”
Macron paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust in Berlin on Monday on the second day of his visit to Germany, according to the German news agency dpa.
The French head of state, together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, located near the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag in central Berlin.
The two heads of state laid wreaths of flowers in the colors of their respective flags. They were accompanied by their wives, Brigitte Macron and Elke Buddenbender. The presidential couple walked around the monument, which is made of rows of large concrete blocks, and visited the museum of the complex.
During the Holocaust in Europe, approximately 6 million Jews were killed by the German Nazi regime.
With the far right on the rise in several EU countries, Marine Le Pen’s National Assembly is expected to defeat Emmanuel Macron’s party in the European Parliament elections in less than two weeks.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen said she wants to work more closely with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meroni, dpa news agency reported yesterday.
“If we could (unite), we could become the second largest group in the European Parliament. I think such an opportunity should not be missed,” Le Pen said in comments published on Sunday.
Politically, the two belong to two different political groups in the European Parliament. Le Pen’s National Assembly belongs to the right-wing Identity and Democracy (ID) group, while Meroni’s Italian brother, who has neo-fascist roots, belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.
Serious rifts within the IS group emerged as a result of the emergence of the Alternative for Germany party, when the Freedom Party’s leading election candidate, Maximilian Kra, issued a statement saying that not all members of the Nazi paramilitary group the SS were criminals.
Le Pen’s party, which is trying to shake off a reputation for anti-Semitism, condemned the remarks and ultimately expelled AZG from its Identity and Democracy group.
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