Her face camouflaged by a cap and dark glasses, Alice Cordier, 27, walks up rue Turbigo in Paris. In his hands, a sign displays the slogan “Jordan, he needs to get Bardella. » It's a decoy: under the brown wrapping paper hides another text that she will reveal later. She is walking towards the violence that she herself will provoke. At his side, the head of a security service, hired for the occasion. They joined the thousands of people gathered against the far right this Thursday, June 27, at Place de la République, at the call of a collective of associations, independent media and the CGT.
We are three days away from the first round of early legislative elections, after the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9. The National Rally (RN) is announced in the lead in the polls. On stage, the personalities follow one another: the actress Judith Godrèche, the environmental activist Camille Étienne, the comedian Aymeric Lompret…
Alice Cordier sneaks into the heart of the gathering. She is soon surrounded by nine other young women, also wearing anti-RN signs and protected by bodyguards. It's almost 8 p.m. Suddenly, the ten young women tear off the paper covering their signs and reveal their real slogans: “To vote for the NFP is to vote for Mélenchon, convicted of rebellion and provocation” ; “To vote for the NFP is to vote for Rima Hassan, summoned for advocating terrorism” ; “To vote for the NFP is to vote for Adrien Quatennens, convicted of domestic violence”… They also chant: “You are not feminists! »
After a few seconds of astonishment from the crowd, their provocation takes effect: boos are heard, cans fly and demonstrators begin to attack them. On stage, David Dufresne, journalist specializing in police violence, tries to reduce the tension: “Leave the provocateurs!” It's like trolls, don't feed them! »
A young woman receives a can of beer on her head and others are spat upon. It is especially their bodyguards who are targeted and who do not hesitate to return the blows. The crowd chants “ We Are All Antifacists » (“We are all anti-facists”, in Italian), then the activists retreat. The ten women behind the punch operation are all members of Némésis, an identity collective which claims to be “feminist”.
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