Thousands march in Paris for the annual Pride parade on the eve of the French elections

Watch live on Saturday (June 29) as thousands of people march in Paris for the annual Pride parade.

The Marche des Fiertés LGBTQ, France’s largest LGBTQ Pride parade, attracts thousands of spectators every year.

The parade starts at 1:30 pm at Place de la Nation and moves through the streets of Paris. The parade ends at Place de la République.

About 700,000 spectators and participants take part in the annual parade, which usually ends with a big free party.

The iconic event is the largest Pride Parade in France and brings together around 90 different organizations and associations, uniting in the collective struggle for equal rights for people from the LGBTQ community.

The 2024 event will take place on the eve of the French elections.

Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) party is widening its lead in the polls as the campaign enters the final phase of early elections.

It is a crucial and polarizing vote called by President Emmanuel Macron, with his centrist government at risk of a potentially fatal drubbing by the far right.

France goes to the polls on Sunday in the first round of a two-round vote.