Across various cities in France, thousands have taken to the streets to protest against a government crackdown on law and order targeting Romanian gypsies.
On Saturday in Paris, leaders from leftist opposition parties joined Roma migrants whose camps had been destroyed by authorities in a march.
According to police estimates, the demonstration attracted 12,000 participants, while organizers claimed the number was around 50,000.
Cities like Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and others saw thousands more joining the rallies, supported by human rights organizations and trade unions.
Earlier, a group of prominent figures from the arts, including actress-singer 
Jane Birkin, protested in support of migrants outside the immigration ministry.
Nevertheless, the French Interior Minister dismissed the protests, claiming that the outcome was disappointing for those who organized them.
“Despite being organized by 60 associations, collectives, unions, and political parties, today’s demonstrations for the so-called defense of human rights managed to attract only a few tens of thousands of people across the entire territory,” he stated.
He further remarked, “It is undoubtedly a disappointment for the organizers.”
Police estimates indicated that over 30,000 individuals had participated in the protests throughout France, while rally organizers asserted that the total was 100,000.
Eric Ciotti, the hardline national security secretary of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP Party, had already criticized the demonstrations, labeling them as “guilty complicity with those who flout the laws of the republic.”
In July, Sarkozy’s government initiated a significant law and order crackdown, which included the widely publicized and heavily criticized deportation of nearly 1,000 Romanians and Bulgarians back to their home countries.
In Bordeaux, over 1,000 individuals participated in a two-hour march advocating for an end to xenophobic policies.
