Demonstrators tear EU flag at anti-membership rally in Paris

Demonstrators at a protest against France’s membership in the European Union in central Paris tore apart an EU flag.

More than 1,000 people took part in the rally, Caliber.Az reports via TASS.

“This is a national march for France’s exit from the European Union and for the restoration of our independence,” Florian Philippot, leader of the French Patriots party, which organised the demonstration, said.

According to Philippot, nearly everyone in France is suffering because of the EU.

“This affects our farmers, who are being forced into unnatural agreements such as the deal with the Southern Common Market. It also concerns issues of war and peace — we are being dragged into situations around Greenland and Ukraine, into wars that have absolutely nothing to do with us,” he said, adding that “the EU must be destroyed before it destroys the French.”

The politician also voiced dissatisfaction with the EU’s growing restrictions on freedom of speech.

“We see that the European Union, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, is restricting freedom of expression,” Philippot stressed, saying that France has no future within the European Union.

France has historically been one of the founding members and key drivers of European integration, but public opinion has grown increasingly sceptical about the EU’s direction.  

One major flashpoint in recent years has been French farmers’ repeated protests against EU agricultural policy and trade agreements, especially the contentious EU-Mercosur free trade deal, which farmers say threatens their livelihoods by allowing cheaper imports from South America. 

Although activists and small parties (including hard-Eurosceptic groups) call for a “Frexit,” most polls show that a majority of French people still see EU membership as important and would not favour leaving.

Major French political parties differ sharply on EU policy: mainstream centrist and left parties tend to support staying in the EU, whereas some right-wing and nationalist parties advocate reducing EU powers or leaving the bloc, contributing to internal political debates over national sovereignty versus deeper integration.

French scepticism is not new — it predates recent crises and has roots in events like the rejection of the EU constitutional treaty in a 2005 referendum, reflecting long-standing concerns about national control and the balance of power between Paris and Brussels.

By Jeyhun Aghazada