Marine Le Pen accosted as FEMEN protester storms stage (VIDEOS)
With the French presidential election just days away, National Front leader Marine Le Pen was interrupted on stage by a flower-wielding FEMEN protester.
Footage of Monday's incident shows a young female protester running towards the presidential hopeful with a bunch of flowers held above her head, seemingly waving them in the direction of the presidential candidate during a rally at Paris’ Zenith arena.
MEETING / LE PEN : Incident au Zénith, une Femen est montée sur scène et a fait irruption devant Marine Le Pen. #MarineAParis (LCI) pic.twitter.com/YpdTxtophH
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) April 17, 2017
It seems as if the protester is about to remove her top before she is rushed by Le Pen’s security detail, who drag her along the ground by the arms and out of sight of the cameras.
Un an après Tariq Ramadan, FEMEN s'en prend à Marine Le Pen ! 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/PnV0zE3lf6
— FEMEN (@Femen_France) April 17, 2017
Le Pen described the protest by “left-wing extremists” as a “total reversal” of their values to “disrupt a meeting of the only woman who defends women.”
Interruption at #MarineLePen rally - reportedly a #Femen protester - removed swiftly by security. pic.twitter.com/AVu6AOSzx0
— Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) April 17, 2017
A short time later, a second protester was also removed from the event after she started shouting during Le Pen’s speech. “She should have stayed a bit, she would have learned something," Le Pen said, according to BFM.
Une autre Femen expulsée du meeting de Marine Le Pen pic.twitter.com/KKDbndtAtg
— Pierre Tremblay (@tremblay_p) April 17, 2017
Earlier on Monday, protests erupted in the capital ahead of the rally. Smoke grenades were reportedly thrown at riot police, with tear gas being fired in return. RT correspondent, Charlotte Dubenskij, was caught in the middle of the scuffles while covering the standoff.
Police tear gas anti-Le Pen protesters during campaign rally in Paris https://t.co/jIx2sp5Pjipic.twitter.com/agnwrVQ0nG
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) April 17, 2017
“We have been caught in tear gas, we have had bricks thrown at us, one member of the press had his camera taken off of him and thrown on the floor,” she said, adding that fires also erupted.
Protestors outside #NationalFront rally #Parispic.twitter.com/donefEPrwU
— Charlotte Dubenskij (@CDubenskij_RT) April 17, 2017
Clashes between police and #anti-facist protestors outside #NationalFront Rally pic.twitter.com/YAxzX3a98m
— Charlotte Dubenskij (@CDubenskij_RT) April 17, 2017