French Interior Minister plans to abolish three ultra-right groups after death of high schooler prompts violent protests
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has proposed abolishing three ultra-right groups in the country. He did so in response to violent protests during the weekend of 25 November by dozens of ultra-rightists in the municipality of Romans-sur-Isère near Lyon, prompted by the death of a high schooler as the result of a brawl at a village festivity.
Police arrested about 30 people at the demonstrations, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “I will not allow any militias, whether the ultra-right or any other extremist tendencies, to interpret and enforce the law instead of prosecutors and police,” Darmanin said during a broadcast on the France Inter station.
“I am proposing the dissolution of several groups. One is called Division Martel, the very name of which prompts concern, and another two the names of which I am not able to publicize,” the minister said.
All three groups, according to the minister, contributed to the recent violence. The demonstrations held by the ultra-right were prompted by a brawl at a dance in the village of Crépol, about 70 kilometers south of Lyon, home to roughly 500 inhabitants.
In mid-November, locals were holding a celebration when men armed with knives attempted to enter the venue in the late night hours. The brawl that ensued between the men, the security guards and the locals ended in the death of a high schooler named Thomas, serious injury to two other youngsters, and the arrest of nine suspects.
What prompted that incident and what the motivation of the perpetrators was is not yet clear, according to police, despite their having interrogated more than 100 eyewitnesses, according to the BFM TV news server. “This was not a simple brawl between two groups at a village dance, but a drama portending a deep transformation in our society if we don’t get on top of it,” the AFP reports Olivier Véran, the French Government’s spokesperson, as saying.
Véran also warned it is necessary to demand justice, not revenge, and that violence must not be responded to with more violence. “Justice must be provided by the judiciary, not the French,” the spokesperson said.
Police later arrested about 30 people at protests during the weekend of 25 November responding to the incident. Darmanin said six have already been sentenced to between six and 10 months in prison without the possibility of parole in an accelerated procedure.
Members of the ultra-right organized a march through the center of Lyon on the evening of Monday, November 27, but local authorities decided not to allow it. Police then arrested another eight people at the scene.
