01:49France: Presidential hopeful Asselineau holds rally despite Paris shooting
French presidential candidate Francois Asselineau broke with his competitors, except his Socialist rival Benoit Hamon, and went ahead with a scheduled campaign rally in Strasbourg on Friday evening, despite Thursday's shooting in Paris which left one police officer dead.
Addressing hundreds of supporters, Asselineau said that although he had cancelled some morning events, he “absolutely wanted to come to Strasbourg to talk to people from the city, from Alsace and beyond to the Germans to bring a message of peace.”
He went on to state that although “it is normal to show deference, compassion and horror,” it didn’t warrant cancelling an electoral campaign, adding: “It would be abolishing the principle of democracy.”
The presidential candidate asked his supporters to respect a minutes silence to commemorate the victims of the shooting.
The first round of the 2017 French presidential elections will be contested by a total of 11 candidates on April 23. Should no candidate reach a majority, the top two candidates will go head-to-head in a second and decisive round, scheduled for May 7.
Mandatory Credit: Union Populaire Republicaine
01:49mandatory credit: union populaire republicaine
French presidential candidate Francois Asselineau broke with his competitors, except his Socialist rival Benoit Hamon, and went ahead with a scheduled campaign rally in Strasbourg on Friday evening, despite Thursday's shooting in Paris which left one police officer dead.
Addressing hundreds of supporters, Asselineau said that although he had cancelled some morning events, he “absolutely wanted to come to Strasbourg to talk to people from the city, from Alsace and beyond to the Germans to bring a message of peace.”
He went on to state that although “it is normal to show deference, compassion and horror,” it didn’t warrant cancelling an electoral campaign, adding: “It would be abolishing the principle of democracy.”
The presidential candidate asked his supporters to respect a minutes silence to commemorate the victims of the shooting.
The first round of the 2017 French presidential elections will be contested by a total of 11 candidates on April 23. Should no candidate reach a majority, the top two candidates will go head-to-head in a second and decisive round, scheduled for May 7.
Mandatory Credit: Union Populaire Republicaine