After the clashes in Dijon, the Minister of the Interior announced the systematic examination of the possibility of expelling foreigners implicated in violence, violence which opposed members of the Chechen community to the young people of the Grésilles district in Dijon this weekend. The father of the 19-year-old Chechen beaten up by young people from the neighborhood calls for calm and says he is overwhelmed by the events. But what do we know at this stage about this Chechen community in Dijon, and do they really risk expulsion?
Strong community and code of honor
In France, there are between 15 and 20,000, almost all with refugee status. The vast majority arrived in the 2000s after fleeing the conflict between Chechen separatists and the Russian state. This makes them a tight-knit community with a very deep code of honor, which can lead them to quickly mobilize for one of their own.
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When we listen to them, they are proud of it. But it is also what tarnishes their reputation with the police. For the police, they are more associated with racketeering, theft or vendetta like that of Dijon.
Dictatorship and torture in Chechnya
During this punitive expedition many refugees were present, one of the participants confirmed it at Europe 1, but there were also young French people of Chechen origin. None have been arrested and the police are currently identifying them. But even if that were the case, their expulsion is almost impossible: the procedure is very rare and can only be done in the event of a proven threat to state security.
A counterterrorism police officer confirms that it is extremely complicated in fact. He gave the example of a Chechen who helped a family member to go to Syria, with a long, criminal record. The Interior Ministry is reluctant to send him back to Chechnya, now run by a pro-Putin dictator, where he risks torture and death.