Around 4000-5000 people attended the “anti-fascist carnival” in Lausanne on Saturday.
Keystone-SDA
Around 4,000-5,000 people took part in an “anti-fascist carnival” on Saturday in Lausanne in western Switzerland.
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The second edition of the “anti-fascist carnival” was organised in the city to “take back control of the public space” and to “unite against rising fascism”, the organisers said.
The march through the city centre attracted around 5,000 people, according to a count by the Keystone-ATS news agency, while the Lausanne police put the figure at around 4,000.
They included many young people, as well as parents who came with their children. The participants, many in fancy dress, paraded behind nine floats decorated for the occasion, dancing to the sound of brass bands or techno music. Some threw confetti at passers-by and lit fireworks and smoke bombs.
The procession was also punctuated by songs and slogans targeting fascists, imperialism, capitalism, the police and US President Donald Trump.
The procession set off from Lausanne’s Vallon district at around 3.30pm. Although the authorities had restricted the route, the organisers ignored them and followed their own itinerary. They crossed the city centre for several hours before stopping at Parc de Montbenon, where the party was to continue into the evening.
The march went off without a hitch, although far-right groups had earlier called for counter-demonstrations on social media. Police reported a number of incidents of vandalism, including graffiti on bus shelters, billboards and buildings, including UBS and BCV banks.
Adapted from French by AI/sb
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