"It was a great relief to hear the excellent news that the Front National was defeated in the presidential elections.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has been established and headquartered in France since 1922 and feels that the Front National, because of its history, leaders, backroom advisers, and agenda constitutes a real threat to and is an existential enemy of the cause set out in the FIDH statutes: human rights.
But in order to solidify this defeat and finally eradicate the dangerous extremist elements, the new president of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, will have to respond to two crucial challenges: the future of the European Union and the French presidential regime.
Unless there is a change in everything that has contributed to the rise of the extreme right in elections in France and elsewhere in Europe in the last three decades, there is a danger that the fascist calamity that France has been grappling with for the last 15 years could become a reality in the next presidential elections.
Europe must be prevented from a return to the nightmares of the 20th century.
We would like to congratulate the new President of the French Republic and wish him courage and perseverance during his term of office."
Dimitris Christopoulos, FIDH President