Topless activists from the feminist group FEMEN were arrested Sunday morning in Henin-Beaumont after staging a protest against the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen as voting got underway in the second round of the presidential election.
Topless feminist protesters arrested in Le Pen stronghold
Five women scaled the scaffolding of a church in the far-right party’s stronghold to display a large banner that read “Marine in power, Marianne in despair”, the latter name being a reference to the French national symbol of liberty.
Le Pen’s party won power in Henin-Beaumont three years ago and it is one of only about a dozen municipalities – out of 36,000 nationwide – controlled by the far-right party and its affiliates.
Le Pen is facing competition from centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron who is widely tipped to win the second round of the presidential election.