France's EU exit supporters tear down flag during rally

Rally participants calling for France's exit from the EU, organised by the Patriots party, tore up the EU flag.

The rally was held on Rue de Saint-Dominique in the heart of Paris, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

"2025 should be the year when France finally leaves the EU and NATO, as these organisations no longer align with its path," leader of the Patriots party Florian Philippot said at the demonstration.

He noted that EU membership is harmful to every country that joins it. The politician pointed to Romania, where on December 6, the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the presidential election, in which independent candidate Călin Georgescu led in the first round.

Philippot suggested that the court's decision may have been influenced by the EU.

"Today, the EU cancels presidential election whenever it dislikes the results, under the pretext of so-called Russian interference. They always use the same excuse. Meanwhile, no one notices the real interference of the US and the EU in the affairs of other countries," Philippot emphasised.

The Patriots rally was held near the Romanian embassy. The politician also expressed concern that the EU may start interfering in the upcoming election in Germany. The EU is destroying us; we must push for its dissolution," he added. 

In the first round of the presidential election in Romania on November 24, 2024, Georgescu emerged victorious with 22.94 per cent of the votes. In second place was Elena Lascu, the candidate from the Union for the Salvation of Romania, who received 19.18 per cent of the votes. They were set to face off in the second round of election on December 8. 

However, on December 6, Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the entire electoral process and ordered a fresh vote, including a new campaign. The decision was made after Romanian intelligence services declassified documents revealing that Georgescu had illegally financed his campaign, that there had been cyberattacks on the digital infrastructure used in the election process, and that Russia was allegedly involved in hybrid actions against Romania.

By Naila Huseynova