France's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has instructed all prefects - the regional chief administrative officers for central government - to issue bans on demonstrations organised by 'ultra-right' groups, following an outcry over the allowing of a neo-Nazi march in Paris at the weekend.
A number of ultra-right terrorism cases in France in recent years have featured teenagers, a trend that is worrying the French authorities. In many cases youngsters are being recruited by groups from forums linked to online video games. Mediapart here reveals the case of a small ultra-right group whose 16-year-old leader and two associates were recently arrested. Sébastien Bourdon and Matthieu Suc report.
On Monday December 6th a small ultra-right group called 'Zouaves Paris' claimed responsibility for the violence committed against anti-racist activists at the previous day's political rally held by far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour. At the time, some people in charge of security at the event thanked those who carried out the attacks. On Tuesday the presidential candidate insisted he “condemned all the violence” while at the same time describing the activists from SOS Racisme as “provocateurs” and “handout seekers”. Sébastien Bourdon, Karl Laske and Marine Turchi report on the background to the ultra-right group involved in last Sunday's violence.
An investigation by Mediapart revealing the existence of neo-Nazi sympathisers among French military personnel has prompted the armed forces minister and France’s chief of defence staff to promise a crackdown on extremists within the ranks. The investigation, detailed here, identified 50 members of the French armed forces, many of who brazenly posted photos and videos on social media illustrating their admiration of Nazi ideology. Sébastien Bourdon, Justine Brabant and Matthieu Suc report.
