Far right versus the marches: the Nice trial, a first test of the firmness promised by the State

This Tuesday afternoon, ten men described as far-right activists are due to appear before the criminal court in Nice. They are being prosecuted following the violence committed on Saturday 24 October on the sidelines of the mobilisation against the cost of living. Beyond their fate in court, the hearing raises a broader question: can the Republic protect those who demonstrate?

The facts

On 24 October, between 410,000 people according to the Interior Ministry and 800,000 according to the CGT marched across France, according to France Info. In Nice, more than 2,000 people gathered despite a prefectural ban, reports Nice Premium. Late in the day, around 300 protesters found themselves facing some fifty far-right activists. Three people were slightly injured and two police officers were hurt, according to the prefecture as quoted by the same outlet.

According to BFM Côte d'Azur, as reported by Cannes Tendances, two vehicles were intercepted before the clashes, carrying masks, gloves, pepper sprays and batons. Eleven people are suspected of criminal conspiracy with a view to committing aggravated violence. One minor falls under the jurisdiction of the juvenile judge, while the ten adults are being tried under the fast-track procedure. According to Petites Affiches, the prosecution has requested that they be remanded in custody. Prosecutor Damien Martinelli said he wanted, according to HuffPost:

"an extremely firm response" — Damien Martinelli, public prosecutor of Nice

Nice is not an isolated case. According to AFP, cited by the Swiss daily Blick, far-right activists attacked marches in more than fifteen cities, including Montpellier, Nancy, Bordeaux, Rouen and Toulouse. France Info reports investigations opened notably in Dijon and Montpellier. The mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse, denounced a "far-right militia" and announced a report to the prosecutor, HuffPost reports.

The positions at stake

Mediapart and Libération claim that some of the attacks took place in full view of police officers, and Mediapart notes that some mayors are questioning their passivity. La France insoumise MPs, including Manuel Bompard and Thomas Portes, accuse the authorities of letting it happen, or even of protecting these groups, according to AFP.

The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, firmly disputes this. According to AFP, he maintains that the police protected no one, acted in concert with no group and intervened several times to break up the clashes. He has asked prefects to refer the matter to the courts and mentions prosecutions for forming combat groups, dissolutions, and even prosecutions for reconstituting a dissolved league in the event of repeat offences. He described the presence of far-right activists seeking confrontation as a "first in a demonstration", according to HuffPost.

In Nice, Mayor Éric Ciotti, an ally of the Rassemblement national, condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms" and called for those responsible to be prosecuted, while praising the security arrangements which, in his view, protected shops. Part of the public debate has in fact focused on rioters and black blocs, which, Blick notes, has largely overshadowed the violence coming from the far right. This point of view deserves a hearing: the damage caused by the far left is real and must also be prosecuted.

Analysis

First of all, we must guard against hasty conclusions. The accusations of police passivity rest on videos and testimonies; they have not been established at this stage and the minister denies them. It is for the investigations, and where appropriate the Inspectorate General of the National Police, to determine the truth. Accusing without proof the officers who were supervising many marches that day would be unfair.

But it would be just as dangerous to downplay what happened. Organised groups, equipped with batons, coming to more than ten cities to attack marches in which secondary school students were notably taking part: this is not a mere news item. It is a direct attack on a fundamental freedom. These groups claim, according to the Interior Ministry, to be protecting shops. Yet in a Republic, maintaining order belongs to the State and to the State alone. Tolerating self-proclaimed militias means accepting that the street is held by those who hit the hardest.

The Gaullist tradition is clear on this point: the authority of the State cannot be shared. It is this same requirement that demands that far-left rioters and far-right combat groups be punished with the same rigour, with no hierarchy based on political colour. Impartiality is the condition for trust.

There is also a social issue at stake. The mobilisation of 24 October was about wages, purchasing power and education. If demonstrating becomes risky, it is the most modest, the youngest, those who have no other way to make themselves heard, who will be the first to give up. The safety of marches is a matter of social justice as much as of public order.

Conclusion

The Nice trial will be a first test of the firmness that has been promised. But a case-by-case response will not be enough if this violence is repeated at every mobilisation. In the coming weeks, the government could make public the conclusions of the investigations opened in each city, including on the conduct of the police, and launch without delay the necessary dissolution procedures, in strict compliance with the law. Transparency is the best answer to suspicion. One question remains: will Parliament finally take up the rise of these groups before the next day of mobilisation?

Article written with the help of artificial intelligence.