French President Emmanuel Macron has called the 2018 election of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro “illegitimate”, supporting the opposition protesting in the streets, France24 reported.

Macron tweeted that Europe supports the restoration of democracy, and “welcomes the courage of the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who march for their freedom”.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim leader, winning the support of Washington and parts of Latin America and prompting Maduro to sever diplomatic ties with the United States.