Far-Right Activists on Trial in Lille for Racist Assault and Nazi Glorification

In court, Rémi F., 33, Étienne V., 24, and Guillaume D., 32, three identitarian activists, were answering for an assault on a minor that occurred in January 2018 in Lille. The first two are also being prosecuted for "apology for terrorism". Six associations including La Licra, SOS Racisme, the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) have joined as civil parties in this case. The broadcast of an Al-Jazeera report, largely filmed at La Citadelle, a bar frequented by the Lille section of Génération identitaire, is at the origin of this trial.

Libération describes the scenes. Rémi F. mentioned a car-ramming massacre at the Wazemmes market. "That’s where all the ’gnoules’ of Lille go. I’ll leave my ID card on the seat like the jihadists do and bam, full throttle! As long as I don’t die during the carnage, I’ll do another one," he said. At the bar, he says he was completely drunk: "I wanted to show off." The young identitarian is also involved in the gang assault of a 14-year-old girl.

Étienne V., for his part, is a bar acquaintance. He drinks in this neighborhood. "Heil Hitler!" Étienne V. would exclaim when he saw the two regulars of La Citadelle arrive. "I’m ashamed of my words. Alcohol doesn’t justify everything. I’m a braggart. I don’t endorse these statements at all," he defends himself. But the president of the court reminds him: "Let’s assume that for you, it’s provocation, there’s still a moment when you’re toasting the Third Reich."

Another scene: two girls and two boys, all of Maghrebi origin, are heading towards Etienne V. and ask him for a cigarette. He refuses. "They can’t even stand up straight," their future victim mocks. Tempers flare. Holding a gas canister, Guillaume D., a bouncer at a neighboring bar, also a former member of Génération identitaire, tries to calm things down. Behind his back, Étienne V. strikes one of the boys, who retaliates. Then Guillaume D. sprays the young girl with tear gas to "restore a safety distance". Étienne V. pushes her. "On the Kaaba, don’t hit me!" the teenager reacts. "What Kaaba? F**k the Kaaba!" Rémi F. flares up before unleashing a flurry of punches.

The defendants claim to no longer belong to the identitarian movement. The prosecutor is seeking five months of probationary suspended prison sentences against Rémi F. and Étienne V., and three months of probationary suspended prison sentences against the bouncer Guillaume D., as well as fines. The verdict will be handed down on December 15.