Thousands marched in French cities on Saturday after the far-right National Rally (RN) secured over 30 percent of the vote in last week’s European elections, which prompted President Emmanuel Macron to call for snap parliamentary elections.

Labor unions, student groups, and rights organizations organized the rallies, which aimed to counter the RN’s perceived anti-immigration agenda. In Paris, police reported that the protests reached 75,000 participants, with seven arrests. Figures from the French Interior Ministry indicated up to 250,000 people demonstrated nationwide.

The RN’s supporters come from various socio-economic backgrounds, and their concerns include dissatisfaction with the current economic situation, concerns about immigration, and a rejection of the supposed elitism of Macron’s administration. This anti-immigrant sentiment and distrust of the political elite resonate with many RN voters, despite the lack of statistical evidence linking immigrants to the country’s economic and security issues.

Macron’s decision to call snap elections mirrors those of past presidents Charles de Gaulle and François Mitterrand, who both strengthened their parliamentary positions after dissolving the National Assembly twice.

However, the most recent attempt in 1997 backfired for President Jacques Chirac, where his center-right coalition’s majority in parliament was lost after snap elections when a Socialist Party-led coalition gained control of the Assembly.

The RN’s rise in the European elections has heightened concerns about the potential for far-right policies to gain traction in France. A new left-wing coalition named the New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire) has been formed by four parties, aiming to challenge the RN’s influence as voters are set to cast their ballots on June 29 and 30, and July 6 and 7.