The death of Thomas during a ball in Crépol in the Drôme was the starting point for several demonstrations by far-right activists, sometimes violent, in Romans-sur-Isère on November 25 and 26.
80 far-right people gathered, hooded, in the town of Romans-sur-Isère on Saturday, November 25. These people, who came from several cities in France, gathered “to do battle” with young people from the Monnaie district, from which certain suspects in the Crépol drama which led to the death of young Thomas came, as indicated by the prefect from Drôme, Thierry Devimeux, in a press briefing on Sunday evening. The demonstrations continued on Sunday November 26 with 40 and 50 activists still present and distributed in small groups in the city center of Romans-sur-Isère.
These ultra-right activists, armed with baseball bats, iron bars and equipped with smoke bombs, engaged in clashes with the police who ended up pushing them back. Five police officers were injured in the clashes during which the militants responded with mortars and stones. According to images posted on social networks, activists gathered behind a banner reading “Justice for Thomas, neither forgiveness nor forgetting” referring to the death of the 16-year-old teenager during a ball in the village of Crépol where several other participants were injured on November 19.
The incident on Saturday evening concluded with around twenty arrests with seventeen police custody, allowing a return to calm, according to the Drôme prefecture. During the events of Saturday evening, a young far-right activist from Mayenne was hit, injured and transported to hospital. The life of the young man is not in danger as the prefect declared. Seven new arrests took place during the day on Sunday. Among them are three far-right activists and four young people from the Monnaie district. All were taken into custody for carrying weapons. The prefect of Drôme told BFMTV on Sunday that the authorities had been informed in advance of such a gathering, which allowed the police to organize themselves.
After these sometimes violent demonstrations, the Valence prosecutor, Laurent de Caigny, called for “calm and respect for everyone”. “No one can take justice into their own hands outside the law,” he especially recalled, inviting investigators to continue their investigations. And the magistrate added: “Those who oppose it with illegitimate violence will answer.” The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin denounced “unacceptable acts” on X (former Twitter).
This Monday, November 27 in the morning, Emmanuelle Anthoine, Les Républicains (LR) MP for Drôme, spoke at France Info where she declared “We must avoid this spiral of violence.” In contact with Thomas’ mother, she confides that the latter refuses to allow her son’s death to be used politically. The use of Thomas’ photos in several cities in France has also “greatly affected” the bereaved mother according to the elected official.
Since the tragedy that struck Crépol, the far right has been particularly active on social networks, pointing out in particular the supposed origins of the suspects behind the tragedy. Ideas taken up by the activists this weekend in some of their slogans such as “Islam outside Europe”. A political recovery assumed and sometimes taken up by elected politicians such as the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella who declared on France 2 this Monday morning not to tolerate “recovery trials […] used by those who have a moral responsibility in the situation.” The politician also affirmed that during the Crépol ball “these young people from the city, who behaved like predators, came to set up white people and came to set up young people”, claiming to rely on declarations from witnesses. Note that the motive for the attack has not yet been established and that the racist motive has not been included in the investigation for the time being, according to the public prosecutor of Valencia.
Traveling this Monday morning in Crépol, government spokesperson Olivier Véran warns of the “risk of a shift in society”. He also declared to the press: “I want to express the absolute and unconditional support of the State for all the victims of this tragedy”. Mr Véran also communicated that a “local victim assistance committee will meet in the coming days chaired by the prefect and the prosecutor of Valence” with the aim of supporting victims
