The torchlight procession has degenerated. Some 630 activists”antifa“had made an appointment, this Friday evening in the city center of Nantes,”against fascism, capitalism, authoritarianism“. The demonstration began at 7 p.m. with fireworks, torches and smoke then took a less peaceful turn. On the sidelines of the procession, the window of a clothing store was smashed, others were degraded, facts quickly condemned by the local political class. Which is now wrapped around a message posted on the social network Twitter by a deputy mayor of Johanna Rolland. Explanations.
Broken windows and degraded statue
The most degraded storefront was certainly that of Zara with part of the window shattered into a thousand pieces. Other businesses such as Monoprix were also the target of certain thugs, just like an advertising lollipop, and several tags with clear messages are still visible on the walls of the city center the day after this parade where one person was arrested. Closer to the Loire, the statue of Colonel Georges de Villebois-Mareuil, located on Place de la Bourse, was also vandalized. The demonstration, which ended in confusion between the throwing of projectiles fired by activists and tear gas sent by the police, provoked a rain of political reactions.
– Leila Mechaouri
In the evening, the socialist mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland, hastened to condemn “with force the degradations of which our city center has been the object“, on Twitter before ensuring provide support to the traders concerned. “Support and tribute to our police officers who are doing a remarkable job in the face of these ultra-violent groups”, loose for his part the president of the regional council of Pays de la Loire, Christelle Morançais while condemning facts “extremely serious” which took place at the same time as a mass, at the Saint-Clément church, in memory of Louis XVI who was guillotined on January 21, 1793, according to police sources.
The right calls on Tristan Riom to resign
Witness to the demonstration”as a simple passerby“, assures Tristan Riom, fifth deputy mayor of Nantes in charge of building, energy and climate, the elected ecologist tweeted “unwelcome“, he recognized a posteriori. His message: “Torchlight march against the far right. World and music, something to challenge Nantes nightlife on the advance of nauseating ideas in our country” enraged the opposition and provoked reactions from the majority, to which it belongs. Starting with that of Pascal Bolo on social networks.
– Leila Mechaouri
“What happened after my message a showed another face of this demonstration which in fact was violence as a mode of action, and that for once obviously I do not agree, defends the fifth deputy at the center of the controversy. If I had known it was going to turn out like this, I would not have made this tweet which signaled this demonstration, that is clear. I think I didn’t have enough elements, maybe I did a bad analysis of the situation“. The environmentalist and citizen group at Nantes town hall to which belongs Tristan Riom also reacted quickly. But it was nice to condemn “violence and degradation […] intolerable and which have no place in a demonstration“, the opposition demands the resignation of the elected official in unison.
“Shame on you, resign“, dropped the deputy En Marche, Valérie Oppelt. “The Nantes left made itself an accomplice of the extremes last night and violence. We demand a clear condemnation of Johanna Rolland and the resignation of her deputy“, claims the local right led by Laurence Garnier and Julien Bainvel. A controversy which continues to grow, this Saturday morning, with over 220 posts accompanied by the hashtag #RiomDmission.