Tensions Flare in Poitiers as Moroccan Protesters Confront Pro-Western Sahara Activists

The protesters, Franco-Moroccans from Poitiers, accuse Claude Mangin of politicizing the case of her husband. "A husband who was convicted by Moroccan courts," said Bouziane Fourka, on behalf of the collective. "If she wants her husband’s release, it has to go through the courts," he added.

Ms. Mangin is carrying out a march to Kénitra, Morocco, where her husband has been detained since 2010, an arrest she attributes to his Sahrawi origin in the context of the conflict in the Sahara.

On Monday, the confrontation led to invectives between the protesters and Ms. Mangin’s supporters, separated by the door of the establishment that an employee briefly locked as a precaution. An initial exchange between the protesters and the managers of the place had nevertheless taken place calmly, reports Le Télégramme.

"In every city we go to, there are tensions," reacted Claude Mangin, adding: "But it’s rarely as tense as here." She is due to leave Poitiers on Tuesday evening to continue her march to Angoulême.