Despite French Ban, Tens of Thousands Rally in Paris as International Leaders Back Democratic Alternative for Iranian Free Iran World Summit 2026
PARIS — Despite a last-minute ban imposed by the French authorities, nearly 50,000 Iranians gathered in Paris on Saturday for the “Free Iran 2026 – Onward to a Democratic Republic” rally, protesting the escalating wave of executions in Iran and expressing support for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for a democratic republic.
The following day, the movement’s annual Free Iran Summit brought together more than one hundred former heads of government, ministers, current parliamentarians, diplomats, senior military commanders, and political leaders from Europe and North America, who delivered a united message in support of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and rejected both the ruling theocracy and any return to dictatorship.
Participants traveled to Paris on more than 800 buses from across Europe. Some 100,000 people had originally been expected to attend the demonstration, which had been coordinated with the authorities for more than two months before being prohibited following security threats attributed to both the Iranian regime and supporters of the former monarchy.
In its ruling, the Paris Administrative Court said the police ban relied on “generic reasons devoid of any factual background.” At the same time, intelligence reports submitted to the court warned that the June 20 demonstration faced “the risk of a major attack by the Iranian regime or Iranian monarchists.” The ruling further noted that remnants of the Shah’s regime maintain “an internal security service known as SAVAK,” which allegedly threatened to plant a bomb should the demonstration be authorized.
Rejecting both the Shah’s dictatorship and the ruling religious theocracy, demonstrators called for an immediate end to political executions in Iran while voicing support for the NCRI’s Provisional Government based on Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.
Thousands gathered peacefully at Place Vauban from early morning despite intense heat and repeated police attempts to disperse the crowd. Carrying Iranian flags and portraits of Maryam Rajavi, demonstrators remained disciplined while insisting on their democratic right to assemble. At least 50 demonstrators were arrested and 12 were injured during police interventions. Others prevented from reaching Place Vauban organized parallel gatherings at Trocadéro, Bastille, and Place de la République.
The international speakers had originally been scheduled to address the outdoor rally at Place Vauban. When the French authorities imposed the ban less than 36 hours before the event was due to begin, the organizers rapidly transferred the entire speaking program to an indoor venue, a remarkable demonstration of organizational prowess, resilience, and the ability to successfully reorganize a major international event on extremely short notice.
The two-day Free Iran World Summit 2026 featured an exceptional international delegation, including Charles Michel, former President of the European Council; Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; General James L. Jones, former U.S. National Security Advisor and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe; General Tod D. Wolters, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe; General Keith Kellogg, former U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia; John Baird, former Canadian Foreign Minister; Dmytro Kuleba, former Foreign Minister of Ukraine; Sir Liam Fox, former UK Secretary of State for Defense; John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons; Geir H. Haarde, former Prime Minister of Iceland; Anneli Jäätteenmäki, former Prime Minister of Finland; Ambassador Robert G. Joseph, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Ambassador Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr., former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs; Louis J. Freeh, former Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation; Christine Arrighi, Member of the French National Assembly and President of the Parliamentary Committee for a Democratic Iran; Ambassador Carla Sands, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark; Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of the British Committee for Iran Freedom; Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice President of the European Parliament; and numerous other senior political leaders from Europe and North America.
Delivering the keynote address, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi declared that the appointment of Khamenei’s son as Supreme Leader reflected not the regime’s strength but its profound weakness and internal crisis. She described the succession as “the regime’s final stop,” insisting that neither repression nor executions could halt the Iranian people’s demand for freedom.
“Against an organized uprising, your staged street spectacles are of no avail, and the daily execution of political prisoners will not save your regime,” she declared.
Mrs. Rajavi stressed that any international agreement with Tehran must require an end to the execution of political prisoners and the killing of protesters. She also noted that the public disagreement voiced by Khamenei’s son less than twenty-four hours after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding exposed the regime’s deep internal divisions and growing instability. Reaffirming the Resistance’s long-standing position, she concluded that neither negotiations nor war had resolved the threat posed by the clerical regime, and that the Iranian people’s organized Resistance remained the only viable path to a free, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran.
Former European Council President Charles Michel sharply criticized the French authorities’ decision to ban what he described as a peaceful and lawful demonstration.
“Appeasement does not work—never,” he said. “The regime has repeatedly exploited appeasement to buy time. In reality, appeasement only prolongs the suffering of the Iranian people. ”Rejecting both war and appeasement, Michel praised the organized democratic Resistance, asking: “What political organization anywhere in Europe is capable of mobilizing tens of thousands of people in the streets in the name of democracy, freedom, and hope?”
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ridiculed the official explanations offered for banning the rally. “We heard all sorts of nonsense,” he said, dismissing claims that the weather and security concerns justified suppressing the gathering. “It would be wrong at any time to suppress a legitimate, principled demonstration of political opposition to the regime in Tehran.” Johnson argued that the French authorities had effectively bowed to a regime that tortures and executes its own citizens. Endorsing Maryam Rajavi’s democratic vision, he said her Ten-Point Plan represents the roadmap to a free, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran and expressed confidence that the Iranian people would ultimately prevail.
French parliamentarian Christine Arrighi condemned the prohibition as a betrayal of France’s democratic traditions. “My France is hurting,” she declared, arguing that the ban represented an unacceptable concession to Tehran’s pressure and undermined France’s historic commitment to liberty, equality, and fraternity. She praised the Iranian Resistance as a united, organized democratic alternative that has become the regime’s greatest fear and expressed strong support for Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, particularly its commitment to women’s leadership, secular democracy, pluralism, and the separation of religion and state.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukrainians were “appalled” that such restrictions could occur in France against people standing for democracy and freedom. Encouraging the Iranian Resistance, he urged participants to “Believe, remain committed, and resolve. Because if you do not believe in yourself, no one else will.”
Former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow described the attempted ban as “a pathetic, abject, pitiful surrender” that amounted to “playing the game of the mullahs in Tehran.” Rejecting any return to monarchy, he dismissed Reza Pahlavi as offering no democratic alternative and instead praised the NCRI as representing “a secular, modern, pluralist Iran” committed to democracy, gender equality, and a non-nuclear republic.
The summit’s second day focused on the strategic prospects for democratic change inside Iran. Former U.S. National Security Advisor General James L. Jones argued that the clerical regime is weaker than at any point in nearly five decades, having lost domestic legitimacy while facing economic collapse and an expanding organized resistance. He emphasized that genuine regime change occurs when widespread public discontent converges with a disciplined resistance movement such as the PMOI and NCRI and reiterated that the Iranian Resistance has never sought foreign military intervention.
Former U.S. Special Envoy General Keith Kellogg highlighted the NCRI’s role in exposing the regime’s clandestine nuclear facilities and argued that a weakened, denuclearized regime creates the conditions for the Iranian people themselves to determine their country’s future.
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Tod D. Wolters praised the resilience of Ashraf 3 and the nationwide network of Resistance Units operating throughout all 31 provinces of Iran, describing them as tangible evidence that an organized democratic alternative already exists inside the country.
Former UK Defense Secretary Sir Liam Fox warned that lasting regional peace is impossible while the current regime remains in power. He argued that sanctions relief would merely enable Tehran to rebuild its machinery of repression and finance regional proxy groups, insisting that only the Iranian people have the right to determine Iran’s future.
British MP Bob Blackman reported growing international parliamentary support for the NCRI’s Provisional Government, noting that more than 3,000 parliamentarians worldwide have endorsed the democratic transition plan. He also welcomed new British legislation paving the way for the complete proscription of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Former U.S. Ambassador Carla Sands described the regime as being at one of its weakest moments and warned against attempts to present Reza Pahlavi as a democratic alternative. She endorsed Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan as a practical blueprint for transition based on free elections, gender equality, and a non-nuclear republic.
Throughout the two-day gathering, speakers consistently emphasized that the choice facing the international community is neither war nor appeasement, but support for the Iranian people’s organized struggle for a secular, democratic republic. The extraordinary international participation, together with the determination of tens of thousands of Iranians who defied restrictions to gather in Paris, underscored the growing international recognition of the NCRI and Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan as the principal democratic alternative to Iran’s ruling theocracy.
- Tags: Free Iran, Maryam Rajavi, MEK, NCRI
