Youth protest against French election ends in violence

A protest by French youth against the centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen turned violent on Thursday, according to local reports.

Hundreds of school students took to the streets of the French capital saying, "Neither Le Pen nor Macron", whose projects they said did not meet their expectations, Xinhua news agency cited news channel BFMTV.

On the sidelines of the demonstration, the hooded young people threw projectiles at riot police who replied by using tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to the report.

Anti-fascist and anti-capitalist rallies were also reported in Nantes, Toulouse and Rennes.

At the end of the first round of French elections last Sunday, centrist Macron and anti-immigrant Le Pen reached the run-off, knocking out traditional right and left parties.

Despite loosing momentum, Macron is predicted to defeat Le Pen with 59 per cent against 41 per cent votes on May 7, Opinionway daily survey showed on Thursday.

--IANS

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