A year after the death of Thomas in Crépol, two demonstrations finally took place this Saturday, November 30, 2024 in Romans-sur-Isère. One from the ultra-right, and the other from a group of unions under massive police presence both in the city and in the surrounding areas.
More than 250 police officers present in the city, with helicopter and drone, were engaged this Saturday as part of the demonstrations in memory of Thomas. There are two of them standing at a distance this Saturday afternoon in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme), one organized by a small ultra-right group in memory of young Thomas, killed a year ago in the village of Crépol , and the other by left-wing unions and organizations. The first gathering to set off was at the beginning of the afternoon. “Faced with racists, Romans resists”says the banner at the head of the procession, led by left-wing organizations.
Several hundred people took part in the procession, including activists from the Young Guard, LFI and CNT sympathizers, noted a journalist from theAFP. “It is important for us to say that Romans is not a far-right city, that despite the fact that the ultra-right has put us on a map and on their political agenda, we, on the ground , we want to say stop to that”explained to the’AFP Julie Maurel, member of the Collective for Novels.
“The issue for us is not at all to exploit these deaths”
In the procession, the mother of Zakaria, a 15-year-old teenager from La Monnaie, killed in April by interposing in an altercation. “We demonstrate with Thomas, Zakaria, Nicolas and all the children who died of blind violence in our heads, in our hearts. But really the issue for us is not at all to exploit these deaths, it is is really to be against the racist recovery that is being made of our territory and our population”insisted Julie Maurel.
The procession left from the heart of the Monnaie district, which was notably targeted during a demonstration resembling a punitive expedition a few days after Thomas' death, because some suspects in the case came from there. In this case, 14 people were indicted. The perpetrator of the fatal blow has not been identified. The current instruction must make it possible to determine the responsibilities of each person.
Demonstrations banned at the start
The other demonstration of the day, to which the first is a response, is to be held from mid-afternoon in a square in the city center. Organized by a small ultra-right group called “Justice for our own”she intends to pay tribute to Thomas and Nicolas Dumas, a young man – coincidentally a player in the same rugby club as the teenager – killed in early November in front of a discotheque in the department, which they describe as “victims of immigration”.
The two demonstrations were initially banned by the prefecture which feared “significant unrest and ideological clashes”. A decision by the Grenoble administrative court finally lifted these bans.
