The French Minister of the Interior is seeking to dissolve a “extreme right” organization suspected of participating Attacking anti-racism protesters He participated in a campaign rally organized by far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour.
Zouaves for Zemmour Anti-immigration and anti-Islamic ideology, Is believed to be behind the quarrel that occurred eight days ago.
Members of the anti-racial discrimination organization SOS Racisme were attacked after entering the venue to protest against Zemmour. The organization stated that its purpose was to protest peacefully, but five of its members were injured.
In a clip shot that night, a man was violently beaten on the head of a young woman wearing an “anti-racism” T-shirt. Other attackers kicked and threw chairs at the protesters. After the meeting, the police said that they had identified about 50 people associated with Zouaves, they took a group photo and shouted: “We are at home“(This is our home), according to Agence France-Presse.
On Sunday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that he had begun legal action to ban the Zouaves movement and hoped that the State Department would approve the ban.
“I have initiated a procedure to disband this de facto group, the Zouaves, which is a group from GUD [a former far-right student union] Or French action, that is, the well-known extreme right movement,” Dammanen told French media.
Marion Jacquet-Vaillant is a political science doctor who specializes in extreme “identity” groups. She said that the Zouaves organization in Paris brings together “people from other groups to take fast, violent actions.”Some members still belong to Identity generation, The French government banned a far-right “paramilitary” organization in March.
Jean-Yves Camus, a political analyst at the think tank of the Jean-Jaures Foundation, added that the organization “most importantly, extreme violence and extreme right-wing”.
“They have one of the most violent bloodlines of all far-right groups so far,” Camus told Western France.
“The only reason for their existence is…to fight against antifa, general leftists, anyone who is considered feminist, LGBT, pro-immigrant… etc.,” he added.
He said that the organization does not have a strong ideology. “There is no exact reference material, nor any intellectual reasoning. This is a struggle to defend France’s identity, full stop.”
Zouaves is suspected of being behind several violent attacks in recent years, including an attack on a football supporter waving the Algerian flag in Paris during the 2018 World Cup in Russia and an attack on a radio reporter during last year’s protests. They are also related to the violence in the Gilets Jaunes demonstration.
Zouaves is almost entirely composed of men in their 20s and 30s. It is believed that there is no formal organizational structure, but it attracted more than a dozen members to gather for hit-and-run operations.
Last month, five Zouaves members appeared in court after attacking a bar in Paris. According to reports, the bar was frequented by anti-fascists and drinkers were attacked by baseball bats and tear gas.
The prosecutor has launched an investigation into the violence at the Zemore meeting.
Dominique Sopo, President of SOS Racisme, told Franceinfo Radio: “You either have to be addicted to racism or you have to be convinced of your omnipotence to behave like that in front of the camera. This is absolutely surprising. It shows what this candidate is, what kind of public he attracts, and who the militants gathered there are.”
