two opposing demonstrations in Romans-sur-Isère

Special envoy to Romans-sur-Isère

This Saturday, November 30, the town of Romans-sur-Isère was preparing for an electric atmosphere. An event in tribute to young Thomas, stabbed to death at a winter ball in Crépol a year ago, organized by the ultra-right collective “Justice for Ours” was held from 3 p.m. Place Ernest Gailly.

Initially scheduled two days before the anniversary of Thomas’ murder (the weekend of November 16), it had been postponed at the request of the association of victims of the Crépol ball, who had explained that neither they nor the family of Thomas did not want political recovery, according to information from Figaro.

In a press release, “Justice for ours” specifies that this Saturday’s meeting pays tribute to Thomas, but also to his teammate Nicolas, who died in a shooting in a nightclub in Ardèche at the beginning of the month, as well as to “all the victims of immigration and insecurity”.

At the same time, from 2 p.m., another demonstration began in the Monnaie district, where most of those indicted in the murder of Thomas come from. This meeting is presented as a “counter-demonstration” to that of the ultra-right collective. “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. The authorities feared a risk of clashes between the two events. Ultimately, the atmosphere was rather calm.

“Faced with racist recovery, let’s resist”write the organizers of this event on social networks. “The tragic disappearance of a teenager was widely publicized and exploited by the far right. […] Our towns and villages cannot be the scene of these manipulations, where hatred tries to feed on mourning.”

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 really to be against the racist recovery that is being made of our territory and our population”insisted Julie Maurel. “We cannot let the far right gain ground. We have felt it for a year, their speech is freed, it is more and more uninhibited”testifies another demonstrator aged 60, from Drôme des Collines.

The two gathering places for the opposing protests are a 30-minute walk from each other. Mobile unit personnel came to reinforce those of the municipal and national police. At the “Justice for Our People” demonstration, 200 to 300 people were present. Several speeches by activists from different parts of France followed one another. The leader of the collective, Raphaël Ayma, nevertheless warned the participants at the end of the meeting, telling them to be careful of the presence of hostile groups lurking in the adjacent streets.

Demonstrations initially banned

The holding of the demonstration and the counter-demonstration had initially been banned by the prefecture, fearing “significant unrest and ideological clashes in Romans-sur-Isère, Bourg-de-Péage, Crépol and Valence”. The two gatherings were finally authorized this Friday, November 29 by the administrative court of Grenoble which had been seized for interim relief by the organizers of the gatherings. According to the court, the prefect “does not allege the dissemination of calls to commit acts of violence” and did not call for changes to the rally routes.

Marie-Hélène Thoraval, mayor of Romans-sur-Isère, declared this Friday in a press release to take note of the decision of the administrative court of Grenoble to suspend the order of the prefect of Drôme. She wishes to recall her “attachment to the freedom to demonstrate” but remains “particularly concerned about the conjunction of these two demonstrations on the same day on the same territory and the resulting risks of violent clashes”. The councilor solemnly asks the State to “make every effort to supervise these demonstrations as much as possible and deploy additional resources to those initially planned, to guarantee the safety of people and property”.