The France of 2023 is a powder keg due to the climate of citizen insecurity, inter-community tension, social unrest and the blatant attempt by some political sectors, such as the extreme right and the radical left, to exploit the delicate situation in their favor. Instead of a common project emerging, France is increasingly defined by its internal fractures.
A latest drama, which occurred in rural France, has caused commotion because it confirms that danger reaches everywhere, even to areas that could previously trust to live their lives without major shocks. That is the feeling left by the stabbing death last Saturday of a 16-year-old boy, Thomas, during a village festival in a town of just over 500 inhabitants, Crépol, about 40 kilometers north of Valence. Two other young people were seriously injured.
The origin of the tragedy was a fight. Although there are conflicting versions about the sequence of events, it seems clear that the attackers were expelled from the party by security agents or were not allowed to enter because they had not registered before. Be that as it may, one of the agents was attacked and wounded by a knife. Then a pitched battle broke out. Nine of the alleged attackers were subsequently arrested. Seven of them, including the one who is believed to have delivered the fatal stab wound to Thomas, were arrested in Toulouse. The police believe they intended to flee to Spain. The main detainee, 20 years old and of French nationality, had a record of crimes such as robbery and drug trafficking.
To instill fear and inflame tempers, the leaders of the traditional right (Los Republicanos, LR) and the extreme right (National Regrouping and Reconquista), as well as related media, such as the CNews television network, came forward to draw conclusions. before knowing the details of the ongoing investigation. It was enough for them to know that several of the attackers came from a marginal neighborhood in a nearby city with a high percentage of the population of immigrant origin – what they call cités in France – for them to insinuate that it had been an action with an undertone of ethnic hatred.
Bruno Retailleau, head of the Republicans in the Senate, spoke of “anti-white racism.” Marion Maréchal, Marine Le Pen's niece and Reconquista candidate for the European elections, said that what happened "reveals an ethnic war and a civil war in the making." The president of Reconquista, Éric Zemmour, stated that the Crépol attack is another expression “of everyday jihad.” Le Pen, a three-time presidential candidate, lamented that “no one feels safe anywhere anymore,” since “armed militias carry out raids.” A CNews analyst saw in the deadly fight another sign “of the disaster of French multicultural society and of “living together,” which “is a fiction.”
In tribute to Thomas, yesterday there was a white march in Romans-sur-Isère, where the victim went to school and where the attackers reside. About 6,000 people made the journey between the school and the rugby stadium in silence. Thomas was captain of his team and loved the sport. At the end, hundreds of white balloons were released and those present applauded for a minute.
The Crépol drama, beyond the specific reason that triggered it, illustrates a trend. Violence and criminal acts are not limited to large cities and their popular suburbs but have spread to medium-sized cities, peri-urban areas and even rural areas. The yellow vest revolt, deeply rooted in peripheral France, was already a warning of discontent. Another symptom is the increasingly frequent attacks suffered by mayors throughout the country, subjected to physical attacks and attacks on their property committed by citizens who make the councilors a scapegoat for their frustrations and complaints. Many mayors decide to throw in the towel and resign. A study by the prestigious Sciences Po school has coined the expression republican fatigue to define the phenomenon.
Yesterday, in reference to what happened in Crépol, the editorial of Le Parisien stated that “violence is everywhere, in the cities and in the countryside, well established in our society; It has not arrived just months or years ago but rather it grows like a weed and invades everything.”
