French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered an investigation into information revealed by Islamophobia and racism platform Tagmaat about far-right incitement campaigns in France and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Interior Minister Darmanin wrote on his Twitter account on Monday that he had issued special instructions to shut down all far-right groups on the Telegram platform, which promoted racist rhetoric and violence against Arabs and Muslims in France.
Sur mon instruction, la demande de fermeture de ce groupe Telegram, sur lequel des propos racistes et des appels à la violence étaient échangés, a été engagée. Les services @Interieur_Gouv travaillent à identifier et poursuivre les auteurs, en lien avec l'autorité judiciaire. https://t.co/rOcEZ4RuJw
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) April 3, 2023
Darmanan added that the Interior Ministry is working to identify the perpetrators to hold them accountable and prosecute them, in coordination with the judicial authorities, while Agence France-Presse quoted a private source as saying that most of the founders of these groups are known to the authorities.
During a debate organized by the Left Alliance in Parliament, Jean-François Caronco, Minister Delegate for the Overseas Ministry, admitted that far-right and "neo-Nazis" groups had infiltrated various bodies and agencies of the army and police.
🔴 "L’école inclusive, une réalité ?"
Suivez le débat organisé dans le cadre de la semaine de contrôle, à la demande du groupe @deputesGDR.#DirectAN https://t.co/qXahTdzn5G
— Assemblée nationale (@AssembleeNat) April 3, 2023
The minister revealed that all security personnel who engage in opinions or ideas related to the extreme right and others will be subject to internal sanctions imposed on them by the police inspectorate, denying - in the same context - that they will be prosecuted.
For his part, Green Party environmental MP Aurélien Tachi said during his intervention that "terrorism practiced by the extreme right has become a real threat to democracy in France and various European countries."
➡️ Débat sur la lutte contre le terrorisme d’extrême droite :
Il y a en France un risque d’attentat venant de l’extrême droite qui est de plus en plus élevé. C’est la seconde menace en France, nous devons la combattre. pic.twitter.com/TAwzFNwuLc
— Aurélien Taché (@Aurelientache) April 3, 2023
On Sunday, the "Tajamat" platform, which is concerned with Islamophobia and racism, revealed an investigation related to the extent of the far-right's penetration through the Telegram platform, which it used to promote its ideas and incite against Arabs and Muslims.
🚨 THREAD – Une vingtaine de groupes néo-nazi infiltré, appel aux meurtres, menace de mort contre un élu, ratonnades, des centaines de personnes impliquées dont des militaires et policiers.
Notre enquête choc sur le groupuscule «FRDETER». #FRDeterGate pic.twitter.com/NfyXLLV3NW
— Tajmaât (@Tajmaat_Service) April 2, 2023
The investigation, which was published by the platform on its Twitter page, shed light on shocking information related to more than 20 far-right groups, including the parent group called "Friedter" and a sub-group, all of which include activists and members of the police force, and serve the course of incitement against Arabs and Muslims and try to target them.
The investigation showed audio messages to the group's founder, asserting that the enemies now are Arabs, Muslims and blacks, and proposing the creation of field groups in order to target them in the streets.
🚫 SIGNALEMENT – Dans un groupe Telégram réunissant 939 internautes, des appels aux meurtres et des messages extrêmements violents à l'encontre des #Maghrébins sont lancés.
Nous vous demandons de signaler ce canal Telégram ⤵️ : https://t.co/GPMjKHoTbq pic.twitter.com/0Medd7YgeE
— Tajmaât (@Tajmaat_Service) March 4, 2023
The group drew up a main list of names that includes deputies, left-wing activists and lawyers to target and attack them directly, such as Louis Boyard, a member of parliament for the "Proud France Movement" who was described as a "cancer" and whose phone number was published along with his party colleague Daniel Abouno, who was described as a "monkey".
À la suite de ses nombreux éléments, une liste initialement diffusée par @F_Desouche, a été modifiée afin que les membres du groupe puissent « s'occuper des collaborateurs. »
Près d'une centaine d'individus, dont @BoudiNabil et bien d'autres, sont notamment visés. pic.twitter.com/ruhfdBDqKv
— Tajmaât (@Tajmaat_Service) April 2, 2023
The list included a number of activists as targets of liquidation or attack, such as anti-Islamophobic Elias Imzalen, journalist of Algerian origin Taha Bouhafs, lawyer Nabil Boudai, and activist of Moroccan origin Siham Asbagh, along with all information related to them such as their addresses, phone numbers, e-mails and other personal information.