WORLD WORLDWIDE FRANCE News Journal Update - (en) France, OCL, CA #333: White march for Nahel (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 The crowd was impressive. For those who didn't know where to go (the

starting point of the march had to be changed at the last moment), it
was enough to follow the people coming out of the R.E.R., advancing in
compact groups. This is already an important point. It must be
remembered that there are generally very few people from outside the
neighborhood for the tributes paid in the suburbs to the victims of
police violence. Some have compared the number of people at the rally
for Adama Traore to the end of confinement. But it's not comparable.
This gathering took place in Paris, and it brought together many more
people than there ever were in Beaumont sur Oise or Persan. I admit that
it warmed my heart.
Of course, the bulk of the crowd did not come out of the R.E.R. The
crowd was largely from Nanterroise. A very mixed crowd, girls and boys,
young people, old people, mothers, groups of friends, families, a few
tricolor scarves lost in the middle (Nanterre is a left-wing city, long
communist), a few union flags... It was a white march, the procession
was therefore not structured into parties, nor into unions, nor into a
leading procession, nor into anything... It was very dynamic. We felt
that it was good for everyone to be together in such large numbers.
White walking is generally synonymous with silent walking. This walk was
not. "Justice for Nahel", of course, but also "Police everywhere,
justice nowhere", "No justice, no peace", "Everyone hates the police",
"Cops, racists, murderers", "State, assassin", reminders of Zyad and
Bounah, Adama Traore... Slogans taken up and launched by Nahel's own
family. We must salute the courage and dignity of his mother, who did
not waver in denouncing this crime, who remained standing in the face of
the accusations and slander against her son, and who was there on the
sound truck at the march.

We had a good idea how this walk was going to end. As soon as we
approached the Prefecture and the Court (which almost face each other in
the same square) and the place where Nahel was murdered, the police
showed their noses, and in an aggressive manner. It was of course the
start of a new night of rioting. The police did not even let the family
and loved ones speak, they returned fire before they could begin their
speeches. Even if it's not surprising, it still makes you angry.
It should be noted that in addition to the usual deluge of gas (at least
in Paris), the Prefecture very quickly closed the R.E.R station. If this
is usual for metro stations, it is much rarer for the R.E.R. It's a real
collective punishment. The R.E.R. stations are very spaced apart, hello
the hassle for those coming home from work, and it was precisely late in
the afternoon.
Whatever political lessons we can draw from this affair, whatever we may
think about the nature of the riots, the level of solidarity still went
up a notch on this occasion. No doubt there is the effect of the
movement on pensions, of the emotion which followed Sainte Soline,
certainly that this solidarity was not up to par, particularly with
regard to the repression of the rioters, but let us remember the general
indifference, even in neighborhood revolts, towards the victims of
police violence who are increasing in number over the years.

Sylvie

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article3947
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