Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP 5:14 p.m., March 24, 2024
This Sunday, a collective opposed to agricultural water reserves unveiled a complaint that it intends to file against the Minister of the Interior. According to Bassines non merci (BNM), Gérald Darmanin “lied under oath” before a parliamentary commission of inquiry concerning the violent demonstration of March 2023 in Sainte-Soline.
Bassines non merci, a collective opposed to agricultural water reserves, unveiled on Sunday a complaint that it intends to file against the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin for having "lied under oath" before a parliamentary commission of inquiry concerning the violent demonstration from March 2023 in Sainte-Soline, in Deux-Sèvres. “All citizens”, and more particularly those injured during the demonstration of March 25, 2023, are invited to join this process until May 1.
Accused of lying by omission
In this appeal addressed to the requests commission of the Court of Justice of the Republic, Bassines non merci (BNM) contests in particular the chronology of the clashes presented by Gérald Darmanin during his hearing on October 5 at the National Assembly, before the commission investigation into the violence of the spring 2023 demonstrations against pension reform and in Sainte-Soline. On March 25, 2023, violent clashes broke out during a gathering banned by the Deux-Sèvres prefecture against a water reserve under construction protected by 3,000 gendarmes. They caused numerous injuries, including two demonstrators who fell into a coma.
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According to Gérald Darmanin, the gendarmes were subjected to projectiles for an hour before responding, while, according to BNM, "it is established that the gendarmes left their line - located along the mega-basin - before even if the demonstrators do not reach their level.” The collective also accuses the minister of having lied by omission by affirming that the anti-basins have "attacked the bans on the transport of dangerous materials or weapons", while their appeal concerned the ban on the transport of weapons "by destination" , recalls BNM, which emphasizes that this is a category with a “particularly broad” legal definition that can bring together all types of objects.
“Crushing” responsibility
Finally, he deplores that Gérald Darmanin has called into question the neutrality of the public liberties observers deployed on March 25, accusing in particular the Human Rights League, which published a report in July on the "disproportionate use" of armed by the police, for having “called for demonstrations despite the ban”. Only two local sections of the LDH had done so, before the gathering was banned, it is specified in the appeal.
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For BNM, the minister thus guided the work of the commission which concluded at the beginning of November that the three movements which called for demonstrations in Sainte-Soline were "overwhelmingly" responsible, despite prefectural bans. Three anti-basin activists, including Julien Le Guet, spokesperson for BNM, were given suspended prison sentences and fines in mid-January for organizing a banned demonstration. Contacted, the entourage of the Minister of the Interior has not reacted for the time being.