THOUSANDS MARCH AGAINST LE PEN
Thousands of people took to the streets of French cities this morning after learning that Jean-Marie Le Pen, the National Front candidate, had qualified for the second-round runoff in the presidential elections.
Waving banners reading "I am ashamed" and "Right and left, united against Le Pen", the protesters gathered in Paris, Marseilles, Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier and other French cities. Most were peaceful, but a breakaway group smashed windows on a Left Bank avenue and others threw barricades at the Place de la Concorde.
Jacques Chirac, who polled almost 20% of the vote, urged the French to unite to defeat the far right on May 5.
* Protests after French election shock
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,688756,00.html
* In pictures: the vote and the reaction
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,688735,00.html
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