two weeks after the death of Thomas, a small demonstration of “solidarity” in Romans-sur-Isère

by time news

2023-12-02 22:07:16
A small unauthorized demonstration was held in the Monnaie district of Romans-sur-Isère, in the south-east of France, on December 2, 2023. SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP

Fifteen days after the violent death of Thomas in Romans-sur-Isère in Drôme, and despite calls for calm and bans on demonstrations particularly targeting the ultra-right, a few dozen people nevertheless gathered in a square in the popular district de la Monnaie, at the center of attention, Saturday December 2 at midday.

Some suspects in the death of the 16-year-old high school student – ​​killed on the sidelines of a village ball in Crépol on the night of November 18 to 19 – would come from there. “United against those who divide” or “No to fascist recovery”proclaimed signs displayed by these people who say they are mobilized by “solidarity with Thomas’ family”but also with the residents of the working-class neighborhood who feel ostracized since the tragedy.

A discreet police presence monitored the gathering which, beyond the call for harmony, was also a response to the mobilization of the ultra-right who have been crying for revenge since the death of the young rugby player. There were around two hundred of them in Paris on Friday evening, and remain mobilized in the area around Crépol, according to a police source.

Less than 20 kilometers away, in Valence, the prefecture is under heavy police protection, but the situation is calm. Two demonstrations planned in connection with the Crépol tragedy were banned by the Drôme prefecture “due to the risk of disturbances to public order”.

Read the investigation: Article reserved for our subscribers Murder of Thomas in Crépol: a complex investigation in the face of “hasty interpretations”

“Palpable tension”, two banned conferences

The investigation into organized gang murder opened by the Valencia public prosecutor’s office after Thomas’ death resulted in the indictment of nine young people, including three minors. Photos with identity presented as those of the attackers were widely distributed by ultra-right accounts calling for revenge, particularly against the residents of La Monnaie.

The police said they received a complaint on Wednesday from a postman, a temporary worker from the neighborhood who was threatened by several individuals with a knife and subjected to racist insults, according to the SUD-PTT union. “We feel a palpable tension in the classes” and sharply increasing absenteeism, comments Régis Roussillon, teacher and member of the SNES-FSU union, from Thomas high school.

At the heart of the discussions also at La Monnaie, the words of the mayor, Marie-Hélène Thoraval (Les Républicains), who had denounced sur BFM-TV drugs and “the level of delinquency” in this priority district of the city despite the “150 million euros injected since 2014”and called to “other forms of response”. The prefecture clarified on Friday that it had placed the councilor and his relatives under protection, after his complaint of death threats.

A sign of tensions in the region, two conferences planned in Lyon as part of Antifa Fest, a far-left activist festival, were banned on Friday by the Rhône prefecture. For the lawyer of the association organizing the event, Agnès Bouquin, the prefect preferred “prevent talking about anything that may be disturbing” ultra-right movements, on the grounds that it “would be overtaken by the fascist leagues”. Requests to lift the bans have been filed and the administrative court must rule on Sunday’s conference.

Read also: Article reserved for our Crépol subscribers: the government raises its voice to counter the narrative carried by the far right

The World with AFP

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