On Saturday evening, January 17, thousands of people took to the streets in Paris in an unprecedented march in solidarity with the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, equality, and the right to self-determination, condemning the bloody repression of protesters by the Islamic Republic, any reproduction of authoritarianism from above, and foreign military intervention.
On Saturday evening, January 17, a crowd of between five and six thousand people took to the streets in Paris in solidarity with the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and self-determination, condemning the Islamic Republic’s killing and bloody repression of protesters in January. According to field reports, such a large gathering in Paris was unprecedented since the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising.
This solidarity demonstration was held from Pantheon Square to Piazza Italia and was accompanied by explicit slogans against the “reign of massacre” and “end the religious and misogynistic dictatorship in Iran.”
Slogans such as “Women, Life, Freedom,” “Death to Khamenei,” and “No Monarchy, No Leadership; Freedom and Equality” were among the most frequently chanted slogans at the march. With these slogans, participants declared their opposition to the bloody internal repression, monarchist surfeit, and foreign military intervention.
The rally was held at the invitation of the collectives “Roja”, “Freedom for Iran”, and “Iran-Justice”, and was supported by dozens of Iranian and French feminist, human rights, and trade union organizations.
Several French political parties, including the Socialist Party, the Green Party, France Insoumise, the New Anti-Capitalist Party, and the French Communist Party, had also announced their support for the demonstrations.
While condemning the crimes of the Islamic Republic, speakers emphasized the independence of the Iranian popular movement, the rejection of any authoritarian alternative from above, and the defense of the demands for democracy, freedom, and equality. Leila Hosseinzadeh, a political and civil activist, was among the opening speakers of the demonstration.
Also, Aida Hadizadeh, Pouria Amirshahi, and Arash Saeedi, three Iranian-French representatives in the parliament and in the European Parliament from the Socialist, Green, and France Insurgent parties, recited the poem “You Will Create the Homeland Again” by Simin Behbahani in French together.
The organisers emphasised that the central message of this rally is solidarity with the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and the defence of a future free from tyranny, sexual, religious, and national oppression, and war; a future that can only be shaped by relying on the strength of society and the free will of citizens.
On Saturday, in addition to Paris, demonstrations were held in cities in Germany, Britain, and Canada condemning the crimes of the Islamic Republic. https://www.iran-tribune.com/n/ir/215 NEWS