four questions about the May 9 Committee, authorized to march in the streets of Paris this weekend

Critics are multiplying on social networks, Monday, May 8, two days after the demonstration bringing together, on Saturday, several hundred ultra-right activists in the streets of Paris. On Twitter, the socialist senator of Paris David Assouline judges as well “inadmissible to have let 500 neo-Nazis and fascists parade through the heart of Paris”. For his part, Ian Brossat, deputy mayor of Paris, in charge of housing, and spokesperson for the French Communist Party ironically: “The pans are clearly more dangerous than the sound of boots…” “It is not because we do not ban a demonstration that we endorse it”replied the prefect of police of Paris Laurent Nuñez, guest of franceinfo.

1 What happened ?

About 550 people marched on Saturday, May 6, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, gathered behind a banner on which one could read “Sébastien present”. The demonstrators, mostly young men, were dressed in black, often hooded or masked. They carried black flags marked with symbols used by the extreme right such as the Celtic cross or the “sonnenrad” (black sun), composed of three entwined swastikas. The demonstrators refused to answer questions from the Afp journalists present.

The procession remained silent, except to chant, at the end of the rally: “Sebastien present” And “Europe youth revolution”the slogan of the GUD (union defense group), this far-right French student organization. The march began at the Port-Royal metro station and ended rue des Chartreux where the activists laid a wreath.

2 Why was this gathering organized?

This parade actually takes place every year around May 9, in memory of Sébastien Deyzieu, a young activist of the French Work, an ultra-nationalist far-right movement dissolved in 2013. Sébastien Deyzieu died in 1994 at the age of 22 after slipping from a roof at 4 rue des Chartreux in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. He was trying to evade the police while taking part in a demonstration “against American imperialism” which had been banned by the prefecture.

3 Who is behind this protest?

It is the Committee of May 9, a far-right collective, which has organized the march in memory of Sébastien Deyzieux every year since 1995. This collective was created a few days after the death of the young man by members of the GUD , Revolutionary Nationalist Youths and the National Youth Front (now National Youth Rally). The event had been relayed for several days on social networks, on accounts of the radical far right, and on posters posted in several cities in France.

In the photos and videos of the march, we can see the logos of several ultra-right groups such as Novelum Carcassonne, the GUD, Rebel Youth, Clermont non-compliant, An Tour-tan (the lighthouse in Breton) or NFP. In a post published on Telegram messaging, the May 9 Committee claimed the presence of “700 nationalist activists” including “Bulgarian, Italian and Dutch comrades who came to commemorate the martyrs of nationalism”.

4 Why did the Paris police headquarters authorize this demonstration?

The strong criticism on Twitter led the Paris police headquarters to publish a press release on Monday May 8 to justify its decision. “Insofar as this demonstration had not caused, in previous years, any overflow or disturbance to public order, the prefect of police was not justified in issuing a prohibition order against it”she argues in particular in this document, published on Twitter.

The prefecture also believes that the demonstration “has been the subject of appropriate supervision by the police, to avoid any risk of overflow or clashes.” She finally promises “Any criminal act observed during this event or that the subsequent use of the images would make it possible to identify will be reported to the judicial authority”. Before the parade, the prefecture had issued an order to authorize the recording of images of the procession by drone.

Guest of franceinfo Monday May 8, the prefect of police of Paris Laurent Nuñez “obviously fully assumes” the decision not to ban this procession. “To ban a declared demonstration, I must be able to justify that it risks causing disturbances to public order”he explains before recalling that “previous similar marches had been uneventful.” Laurent Nuñez, however, assures that he has already “seized the judicial authority for the individuals who had their faces concealed”which is prohibited by law.