Tens of thousands of exiled Iranians were reported to have demonstrated near the French capital Paris on Saturday against the present government in Tehran, according to dpa. According to the representatives of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), around 90,000 people took part in a mass demonstration in the town of Villepinte. The French demonstration coincides with ongoing protests within Iran over June 12 presidential election, which the opposition claims was rigged. The NCRI organization in a statement said the Iranian elections were an illegal tool to strengthen bad leadership. "The people in Iran want a change of system," said NCRI spokesman Javad Dabiran. The organization also claimed that parliamentarians from Germany, Spain, France and other countries were among the demonstrators. President of the Paris-based NCRI, Maryam Rajavi, called on the West at the demonstration to pursue a harder course against Iran, saying that 30 years of attempts at conciliation had led nowhere. The NCRI is a coalition of Iranian organizations, groups and personalities. Chief among its membership is the People's Mujahedin of Iran, which is considered a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.
