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Israeli Anti-government Protesters March on Netanyahu's Home

People protest on a day of strike and resistance, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TPX
People protest on a day of strike and resistance, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TPX
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Israeli Anti-government Protesters March on Netanyahu's Home

People protest on a day of strike and resistance, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TPX
People protest on a day of strike and resistance, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TPX

Anti-government protesters gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday and converged on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home, lighting a bonfire on the street outside and calling for his resignation.
"We've been abandoned - Elections now!" read one sign that rose above the crowd. Demonstrators yelled through megaphones, waved flags and banged on snare drums while police officers stood at barricades, Reuters said.
Such demonstrations have grown more frequent as the war against Hamas in Gaza rages on and fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatens to escalate, but they have not reached the fever pitch of a year ago when Netanyahu's government tried to overhaul Israel's justice system.
Many in the crowd, which appeared to number in the thousands, also chanted their support for reaching a deal to free some 120 Israeli hostages being held by Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
As the sun began to set, protesters blocked traffic and lit a large bonfire on the central Jerusalem street. But there were no reports of major scuffles and police did not use a water cannon to control the crowd, as they have during more rowdy demonstrations.
The protest movement has yet to change the political landscape, and Netanyahu still controls a stable majority in parliament.

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French Candidates Bow Out in Bid to Block Far-right

French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
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French Candidates Bow Out in Bid to Block Far-right

French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Opponents of France's National Rally (RN) stepped up their bid to block the far-right party from power on Tuesday as more candidates said they would bow out of this weekend's run-off election to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote.

Some 180-plus candidates have confirmed they will not stand in Sunday's second-round for France's 577-seat national parliament, according to local media estimates. Others have until 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) to make their choice.

Marine Le Pen's RN came out well ahead in Sunday's first-round vote after President Emmanuel Macron's gamble on a snap election backfired, leaving his centrist camp in a lowly third place behind a hastily formed left-wing alliance.

But even before the maneuvering of the last 24 hours to create a "republican front" to block the anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic party, it was far from clear the RN could win the 289 seats needed for a majority.

Pollsters calculated the first round put the RN on track for anything between 250-300 seats. But that was before the tactical withdrawals and cross-party calls for voters to back whichever candidate was best placed to defeat the local RN rival, Reuters reported.
"The match is not over," the Socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, told France 2. "We must mobilize all our forces."

The RN is hostile to further European Union integration and would cut funding to the EU. Human rights groups have raised concerns about how its "France first" and anti-migrant policies would apply to ethnic minorities, while economists question whether its hefty spending plans are fully funded.