Danielle Mitterrand, the widow of the late French president Francois Mitterrand, has paid a visit in a show of support. The mayor of Auvers-Sur-Oise has lent them a soccer field to use as a campsite.
Shahin Gobadi, a Mujahedeen spokesman based in Washington, distributed letters from around the world criticizing France's decision to detain Rajavi and 10 of her followers on suspicion of terrorism. Several were signed by US lawmakers.
"The arrests serve the interests of the terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran," said a June 19 letter from US Representative William Lacy Clay, calling for the immediate release of Rajavi. US Representative Edolphus Towns, sent an almost identically worded letter the same day.
But for those who have studied the organization -- and to some former members -- it is far from being a political movement with popular support inside Iran. It has gone through several ideological shifts since its founding in opposition to the Iranian monarchy in the 1960s -- moving from anti-imperialism to a blend of Islam and Marxism to egalitarian Socialism to a vague philosophy that talks of democracy, freedom and equal rights for women.
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