Wanting to avoid the risk of violence, the prefect of Seine-Maritime banned any demonstration around the bar which was to organize a xenophobic evening in Rouen on Friday evening. The day before, the PS mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol had issued a municipal decree prohibiting this evening entitled “Ausländer Raus” (Foreigners outside in German), organized by the right-wing identity bar “Le Mora”.
Since then, the prefecture has banned demonstrations within a perimeter of a few streets around the bar located in a pedestrian street in the city center, from Friday 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day, due to “risk of disturbances to public order”, according to a press release published Thursday evening.
A Nazi slogan
“Ausländer Raus” is a Nazi slogan that went viral after being hijacked by young people who sang it to the techno tune of “L’Amour toujours” by DJ Gigi D’Agostino, sometimes accompanied by Nazi salutes as can be seen in some videos. “The association’s lawyers indicated on social networks that they were filing an interim relief application to suspend the municipal decree,” the prefecture’s press release added. “The announcement of this appeal reveals the organizers’ determination to continue organizing their event this Friday,” the prefecture continued.
“While several groups are calling for mobilization” to oppose the holding of this evening, “risks of disturbances to public order and clashes between antagonistic demonstrators on the public highway have been identified,” indicates the prefect . A demonstration “in the face of the racist and anti-foreigners evening organized by the bar Le Mora” is planned at the arts theater, outside the prohibited perimeter, at 6:30 p.m.
Discrimination complaint filed
On Tuesday, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples (MRAP) filed a complaint for discrimination with the Rouen public prosecutor’s office against the officials of the association managing the bar. When contacted, the bar managers did not respond to AFP’s questions.
“Hatred, xenophobia and racism have no place in Rouen or in the Republic,” declared the Socialist Party mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, when he banned the evening on Thursday. “Evenings Foreigners outside“as in Rouen will multiply in France if the extreme right takes power,” he had also estimated. A petition on the Change.org site entitled “Closure of the Neo-Nazi bar Le Mora in Rouen” gathered more than 2,200 signatures on Friday morning.
