Franco-Moroccan Protesters Face Legal Action Over Sahrawi March Disruption in Poitiers

Organized by Claude Mangin, defender of the Sahrawi cause, whose husband is imprisoned in Morocco, and supported by the Human Rights League, the "March for Freedom" - including an exhibition and a screening at the Gibauderie community center on April 7 and 8, 2025 - did not go as planned. Members of the Moroccan and Franco-Moroccan community of Poitiers and friends of Morocco, gathered in a collective led by Bouziane Fourka, a user of the community center and also a city councilor, displayed their opposition to the event, considering it "political" and "offensive".

They then demonstrated at the door of the community center. The collective first declared the demonstration to the prefecture. About fifteen police officers were deployed on site on the evening of Tuesday, April 8, to calm spirits and ensure the scheduled activities took place, reports la Nouvelle République.

On Monday, this incident led to two meetings, with representatives of the City and the Federation of Social Centers, as well as between the administrators of Gibauderie, regarding this recourse to "police protection to ensure our programming," details the president Sophie Jeusseaume. She says they were scared. "On Monday, it was the territorial police representative who asked us to lock ourselves in. On Tuesday, we saw overwhelmed police officers and necessary reinforcements, while inside, there was the choir, children, elderly people, staff..." she recounts.

The president denounces obstruction, verbal and then physical intimidation. "They asked us to cancel. But we are sovereign in our programming and intend to remain so. The center is a space of expression for everyone. We offered to receive a delegation and organize an event about Morocco. The protesters refused. They still managed to make this event take place almost behind closed doors," she added.

The Gibauderie community center does not rule out legal action. According to its president, a complaint should soon be filed against the collective. For its part, the collective assures that it undertook a "peaceful approach", "without preventing anyone from expressing themselves". However, the exhibition on Western Sahara, a subject of heightened tensions, is a "politicization of a legal case in a place meant to be neutral," it denounced.