Gérald Darmanin asked the Paris police headquarters (PP) this Sunday to report to justice after the dissemination of a photo of a group of far-right activists. They are suspected of having paraded in Paris on Saturday giving Nazi salutes.
“This photo taken on the sidelines of the anti-pass demonstration of the so-called ‘Patriots’ movement shocks many, and rightly so. At my request, the Prefecture of Police has made a report to Justice so that all the necessary follow-up can be taken, ”tweeted the Minister of the Interior.
A Nazi salute or a “clapping”?
The photo freezes most of the members of the procession with their arms outstretched, raised towards the sky, which could suggest the posture of Nazi salutes, which is not established at this stage. Others could see it as a “clapping”, a ritual of supporters to applaud a team during play or at the end of a match.
On the photo, in particular broadcast on the Telegram “Ouest Casual” loop popular with the identity movement but also on Twitter, several dozen people, some dressed in black and hooded, parade behind a banner “liberties are not granted, they take themselves”, a quote from the anti-Semitic writer Charles Maurras. “White Block of 200 nationalists at the demonstration against the health pass”, is thus captioned the photo on “Ouest Casual”.
“Following the minister’s tweet, the prosecution received the report from the police headquarters and will decide what action to take,” confirmed the PP.
Journalists attacked in the same demonstration
On Saturday, two image reporter journalists (JRI) from AFP, as well as their two close protection guards, were violently attacked by a group of around fifty people, identified as far-right, while they were covering the anti-vaccination pass rally organized by Les Patriotes of pro-Frexit presidential candidate Florian Philippot. AFP will file a complaint for “intentional violence in meetings”, “death threats” and “obstructing freedom of expression”.
At the call of a hooded individual with a megaphone, at least fifty people, identified as far-right by journalists, tried to attack the AFP videographer. The protection officers intervened, allowing the two JRIs to flee. The security guards were then beaten, in particular with truncheons, while they were protecting the journalist, who was overtaken by around twenty demonstrators.
They were then threatened with death and one of the security guards received a bottle on the head, splitting his scalp. The company that employs the two agents will also file a complaint on its side.
This is the second attack on an AFP team covering protests against the health pass. In July 2021, two JRIs received spitting and insults during a demonstration organized by Florian Philippot.