‘They’re trying to divide us’: Muslims in France voice fears over rise of far right

‘We’re at risk of taking a huge step backwards,’ said Sylvie Nedgar, right, with her daughter, Amelie. Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian

They marched through the narrow streets of Lyon’s medieval old town, about three dozen of them, emboldened after the French far-right gains in the European elections. Masks covering their faces, they wound past the hidden passageways that provided cover for the resistance during the second world war, chanting: “We are fucking Nazis” and “Islam out of Europe”.

For some in this French city, last week’s far-right demonstration, captured on video, was a chilling reminder of just how much is at stake in the snap parliamentary elections that could see the French far-right lead government.