Left-wing groups on one side, ultra-right on the other: two demonstrations take place this Saturday in Romans-sur-Isère a year after the death of Thomas in Crépol

Two demonstrations are being held remotely on Saturday afternoon at 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 an AFP journalist. “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”, Julie Maurel, member of the Collectif pour Novels, explained to AFP.

In the procession, the mother of Zakariaa 15-year-old teenager from La Monnaie, killed in April when he intervened 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 Monnaie districtwho was particularly 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.

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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 ours”she intends to pay tribute to Thomas and Nicolas Dumasa young man – coincidentally a player within the same rugby club that the teenager – killed in early November in front of a discotheque in the department, whom 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.