Far-right violence on 24 October: Nuñez denies police protection
Clashes between far-right and far-left groups erupted in several French cities. The police prefect denies having protected nationalist activists.
Nuñez denies any police complicity following 24 October violence
According to huffingtonpost.fr, Laurent Nuñez categorically rejected accusations made against him on RMC/BFMTV on Monday 26 October. "We protect no one," he said, after several left-wing elected officials had questioned his role in the weekend incidents.
Groups of far-right activists caused disruption alongside rallies on 24 October in several French cities, notably Nice, Montpellier and Nancy. Nuñez indicated that these groups came "primarily to target the far-left movement, as they typically do". Police and gendarmes "intervened on numerous occasions to disperse and prevent clashes between the far-left and far-right," he specified.
The minister wanted to settle the matter decisively: "At no point, obviously, were they protected by police. At no point did they work in coordination with police and gendarmes." He then became irritated: "No, we protect no one, certainly not."
LFI and the Greens maintain their accusations
La France Insoumise deputies Manuel Bompard and Thomas Portes accused the authorities of allowing "the fascists (...) to roam the city armed with knives and iron bars to assault passers-by" in Nice and of having "protected far-right militias this weekend".
Mathilde Panot, leader of the LFI group in the National Assembly, went further, calling Nuñez a "liar" in a caption accompanying a video filmed in Nancy by Mediapart. It shows men dressed in black, faces covered, throwing projectiles at another group. Police officers, who had previously been stationed further up the street, advance, pass in front of this group and appear to head towards those who received the projectiles.
On the Green side, Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the party and presidential candidate, denounced "impunity for far-right movements" on Télématin. She said she was "extremely shocked by this double standard in the repression" compared to the student movement.
Around a hundred masked activists in Nice, eleven in police custody
In Nice, according to the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, around a hundred "masked far-right activists" converged on the city centre with the aim of "physically confronting protesters". Eleven people were taken into police custody following the incidents.
In Rouen, an investigation into aggravated violence was opened following the release by media outlet Blast of a video showing nationalist activists beating a man on the ground, the day after the 24 October demonstration. The Rouen prosecutor, Sébastien Gallois, confirmed in a statement that "clashes had opposed individuals from far-right and far-left movements in Rouen city centre" after the march was dispersed.
In this video, several individuals, some masked and hooded, run through the city centre before attacking a man on the ground. Around ten police officers then cross through the group to attend to the victim, whilst those responsible for the violence retreat shouting "Nationalist Rouen" and "The street, France, belongs to us". The investigation into aggravated violence was assigned to the national police on Sunday.
Minister evokes judicial and administrative action
Nuñez revealed that calls had been detected on social media emanating from "numerous far-right movements", people from "the identitarian movement" and "nationalists (...) who wanted to go into city centres to protect shops".
These groups had "formed into what is called a combat group, or at least a group formed with the aim of committing violence", which "may fall under criminal charges," he assessed. He also mentioned the possibility of disbanding these groups if their formation as combat groups were established.
The minister promised "consequences" both judicial and administrative. Should it emerge that certain of these groups had previously been disbanded, "they will be prosecuted under criminal law for reconstitution of a banned league," he warned.
Source: Google News LU FR