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Paris- French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced the dissolution of the far-right “Division Martel” group, last Wednesday, more than a year after its founding.
This comes in light of the group’s plans to organize acts of violence against people of North African descent and the participation of a number of its members in clashes in the recent period, especially in the southeast of the country.
Darmanin justified this solution by saying that this group “incites violence and racial hatred.” Is the decision really in the interest of immigrants and French people with an immigrant background and protecting them from extremists, or are there other goals?
On probation
Official statements indicate that the Martel group – which was founded in the fall of last year – was under the surveillance of French intelligence services for several months. It is part of a network of organizations with the same orientations that represent some extremist Catholics.
The dissolution decree stipulates that the group “organizes combat training and promotes the use of non-firearms in the confrontations it encourages.”
These groups share a belief in racist conspiracy theories, including the theory of the replacement of white European Catholic populations by those from immigrant backgrounds. Africa And North Africa. They also adopt violence as a method to win this “ethnic war,” according to their ideas.
This group was initially known as the Legion Paris“Before it changed its name in September 2022 in reference to the “Battle of Poitiers” in 732, in which the Frankish knight Charles Martel defeated the Arab forces of Louis. Andalus Abdul Rahman Al-Ghafiqi.
It has a few dozen members, most of them in Paris, and is considered a continuation of the Souaves Paris group, which was dissolved in January 2022 for the same reasons.
It is also close to the GUD Union and Defense Group (GUD) in the French capital, a violent far-right group that was active in the 1970s and was reconstituted a few months ago.
Martel uses neo-Nazi symbols such as the Gothic cross and the slogans “Europe, youth, revolution” and “Islam outside Europe.” Its dissolution was announced following the death of the young man, Thomas (16 years old), during a dance party in the village of Crepol, where law enforcement forces arrested 20 of its members.
Media propaganda
Former Minister of Equal Opportunities, Azouz Baqqaq, believes that the French media’s shedding light on a small group that does not exist legally, and making it a national issue, is “ridiculous and extremely shameful,” considering that the main problem is Darmanin and the executive authority he represents.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Baqqaq pointed out the presence of extremist right-wing groups more dangerous than Martel, which include about 300 individuals in the city. LeonHe added that its members go out with weapons and iron sticks in the streets to attack Arabs and Muslims.
The former minister wondered whether all this media propaganda about this group, and perhaps others in the future, was the real purpose of strengthening it and publicizing it so that everyone would know about it, “because if I were in the place of Darmanan or the police, I would solve it secretly and complete my intelligence work around it.”
In turn, the head of the “Justice and Rights Without Borders” organization, François Des Roches, said that this issue “caused an incomprehensible and exaggerated media sensation about a group whose members do not exceed dozens.”
Des Roches added – to Al Jazeera Net – “Darmanin has requested the dissolution of the group since last November 28, but there has been heavy silence until now, and no tangible progress has been made at the judicial level, because the organization was newly established and does not have a headquarters or legal status. Which means you cannot dissolve an entity that does not actually exist on paper.”
While it may appear to be a step to protect Arabs and Muslims in… France Regarding the violence of extremist groups, the head of the “Justice and Rights Without Borders” organization from Paris described what the Minister of Interior did as “an attempt to beautify the windows” so that it can be said that he is not only attacking Muslims but also right-wing extremists.
Des Roches added, “We often see that the decisions of the President’s government… Emmanuel Macron His minister, Darmanin, is more violent than the decisions of the extreme right, as he thinks it is good to hit white people with blue eyes from time to time.”
“Cunning Minister”
Des Roches continued, “The Macron government has a dual method of influencing all parties and reassuring weak minds by convincing them that the government is not only cruel to Muslim associations.”
For his part, former Minister of Equal Opportunities, Azouz Baqqaq, pointed out that Muslims are being targeted through the draft immigration law being discussed before the National Assembly, “because when they set laws regarding immigration, they specifically concern Muslim immigration,” as he put it. He described the Minister of Interior as “cunning” because he “makes a lot of noise and decisions about a group like this, and knows that no one can oppose him.”
The former minister stressed that Darmanin’s move will not attract immigrants “because they will vote for Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the end, even though this group is not considered a political force, but only scapegoats, and that is why I have been fighting for years for compulsory voting. There are about 80% of the population.” “The suburbs don’t vote.”
The voices of politicians or far-right parties in the country did not move to defend or object to the announcement of Martel’s dissolution, despite adopting some of their ideas, because French law prohibits racism and considers it a crime.
François Des Roches supports this trend, considering that this political group knows that there is no benefit to this and that the entire issue is a strategy pursued by the government.
As for Azouz Baqqaq, he believes that the real reason behind Darmanan carrying out a political battle against Martel is to please the right and the extreme right to achieve what is called “order and security,” ruling out the theory of “protecting immigrants and their children.”
He said, “Today we live in the midst of a fierce war Gaza strip And the increasing rise of the far right, as everyone in France knows that the leader of the far right Marine Le Pen She will be the country’s president within 3 years. Therefore, Darmanin and his group are trying to do everything they can to gain some supporters.”
The former minister expected the pace of violence to increase and accelerate further before the European Parliament elections in June 2024, stressing, “We will witness a resounding victory for the National Front and the extreme right.”
