2000 Demonstrators in Paris against Macky Sall, the “dictator”

About 2,000 people, including many Senegalese, demonstrated on Saturday in Paris against President Macky Sall, who has been described as a rebel. “dictator”They denounced the postponement of the presidential elections in their country and the repression in Senegal that left two people dead.

“Senegalese came out in large numbers despite the rain.” A Parisian received to Agence France-Presse the Senegalese representative in the diaspora, UNISAL (the opposition), who is considered… “Between 2500 and 3000” Participants. “There were 2,000 demonstrators.”According to the Paris Police Headquarters, told Agence France-Presse. In the procession, the demonstrators raised posters “Macky Sall is a security risk. Macky Sall is a dictator, “Senegal under dictatorship”or “No to the royal project in Senegal”.

Slogans “Mackey resigns and Macron is complicit.” Crowds also cheered, frustrated by France's perceived timid reaction to the indefinite postponement of the presidential election, initially scheduled for February 25, and which Senegalese President Macky Sall had announced just a week earlier. On Monday, the National Assembly agreed to postpone the elections until December 15, after opposition representatives were forcefully expelled.

Read alsoSenegal is plunged into crisis after the presidential elections were postponed

Last Sunday, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced “He called on the (Senegalese) authorities to remove doubts about the election schedule so that the elections can be held as soon as possible.”, without further details. Then, on Wednesday, the head of French diplomacy, Stephane Ségournet, described the situation in Senegal as… “Very worrying”calling for Dakar “Preserving long and established (Senegalese) democratic traditions and guaranteeing all public freedoms”.

Suppression of demonstrations

But Senegal entered into a crisis on Saturday after suppressing demonstrations during which two young men were killed. “When people come out, we shoot them.”Representative Aliyoun Sall denounced it. “Not only is Macky Sall violating the constitution, but his police are bloodily repressing the protesters.” The Senegalese opposition views the postponement of the presidential elections as a strategy to avoid the defeat of the presidential candidate, or even to keep President Sall at the helm of the country for several more years, which he denies.

Parliamentarian Aurélien Tachi (environmentalist) said amid the cheers of the crowd: “We, the French representatives from the Nubian Party (left), stand in solidarity with the opposition representatives in Senegal.” Democracy is everything. You must fight for your people, you must fight for democracy, you must fight for freedom.he added.