Twenty far-right activists have invaded, this Friday, October 5, the headquarters of the SOS Mediterranean Association in Marseille, on the eve of a European day of mobilization in support of his rescue ship Aquarius migrants.
Their action has elicited many reactions. Twenty right-wing activists of the group Génération Identitaire invaded Friday the headquarters of SOS Méditerranée in Marseille, which charters the rescue ship Aquarius migrants. Twenty-two people were taken into custody in a flagrant investigation opened for "willful violence and confinement at a meeting," police said.
At around 2 pm, "the individuals put out all the staff who were present" and deployed a banner at the window "SOS Mediterranean complicit in human trafficking," said a spokesman for the departmental direction of public security to AFP. No one was injured and the arrests went off without incident, very quickly after the start of their action, according to the same source.
"We must seize the Aquarius! "
"The headquarters of @SOSMedFrance #Marseille was attacked this Friday by a dozen activists identity. The police are there and make arrests. The staff of @SOSMedFrance is safe and sound, but in shock, " responded the NGO on his Twitter account. The association that charters the Aquarius with Doctors Without Borders, threatened to lose the Panamanian flag of his ship, called for a demonstration Saturday in thirty cities in France and Europe to support its rescue operations.
URGENT The headquarters of @SOSMedFrance in #Marseille was attacked this Friday by a dozen activists identity. The police are there and make arrests. The staff of @SOSMedFrance is safe and sound, but in shock.
- SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) October 5, 2018"Génération Identitaire occupies the premises of @SOSMedFrance in #Marseille, the pro-migrant NGO complicit in the trafficking of human beings. We must seize the Aquarius! " , Tweeted, meanwhile, Romain Espino, spokesman for the group of extreme right. He also published a video showing activists at the window of the offices of SOS Mediterranean, in a building in the center of Marseille, holding their banner and waving smoke.
# release Génération Identitaire occupies the premises of the NGO pro-migrants SOS Méditerranée! https: //t.co/5JXMs4ebGy#OccupSOSMed
Sign the petition to require entry of the Aquariushttps: //t.co/SVGukUSeMD pic.twitter.com/Lliw1yNNBf
Mélenchon condemns, Ravier applauds
Many politicians have condemned this outbreak on the premises of SOS Mediterranean. The deputy from Marseilles and leader of France Insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon went to the headquarters of the association and asked for "the dissolution of the extreme right bands" .
European Communist leader Ian Brossat also called for the dissolution of Generation Identitaire and called to join the mobilizations of Saturday, while the boss of Génération-s Benoît Hamon denounced "a new step in the violence of the 'far right' . The secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger said he "solidarity" with SOS Mediterranean and "shocked" by this "aggression" .
In contrast, the leader of the National Rally in Marseille, Senator Stéphane Ravier said "congratulations to Génération Identitaire for its peaceful action" . "The time of impunity is over! He added, saying that SOS Méditerranée was "a real accomplice to the traffickers of human beings" .
An action in Lille against a concert in Medina
Under the banner "Defend Europe" , the action of Generation Identity recently focused on migrants, in the Mediterranean or in the Hautes-Alpes. In the past, she had targeted mosques.
Also this Friday, in Lille, around 19 pm, a dozen members of the small group have deployed a large banner "No Islamist rapper in Lille" in Euralille, near the theater (L'Aéronef) where must occur to At 8 pm the rapper Medina, noted an AFP journalist. Subject of intense controversy, Medina, accused, including right, of complacency towards Islamism, had canceled his two concerts scheduled for mid-October in Paris at Bataclan, affected by the attacks of November 2015.