The below is translated from a French language article on contre-attaque.net.
The political class doesn’t mind the “lynchings” when they’re committed by the far-right. The real scandal is that this was an ambush by those who wanted to “smash the heads” of antifascists; an ambush which backfired on them.
Hooded figures. A man on the ground, curled up, being attacked by a mob, beaten with bottles, broken glass, and knives. Two seriously injured, one stabbed – a CGT union member.
These images are not the ones from Lyon that were broadcast a few days ago. They date from almost exactly a year ago and show a neo-Nazi ambush in the heart of Paris against a local activist group that was showing a film against the far-right .
As they left, this group shouted “Paris is Nazi” and left behind Celtic cross stickers to claim responsibility for their actions.
These were the same Celtic crosses that Quentin Deranque and his friends brandished at demonstrations. These images were not widely circulated in the media, because it was crucial not to expose the public to the reality of fascist terror in France.
The man who orchestrated this attack, which could have killed several left-wing activists, is named Calixte Guy, an ultra-violent neo-Nazi. He was also coordinating with Némésis to set up other ambushes in Lyon. On his phone, investigators found this message: “Don’t worry about Antifa, Audace will take care of it.” Audace is the group to which Quentin Deranque also belonged, and which organises combat training to “defend the white race.” And these are the same people who are now playing the victim.
The Lyon affair has become too huge, and the revelations too scandalous to be concealed: now, even BFM, after relaying the far-right narrative for about ten days, is forced to do a little journalism. Following L’Humanité’s revelation
of exchanges between the Nemesis group and neo-Nazis planning to ambush left-wing activists , the channel published further excerpts from the text messages.
In this exchange, which took place a few weeks before the fatal brawl, the neo-Nazi Calixte Guy tells a leader of the Nemesis group: “You’re going to Lyon 2-Lyon 3 to carry out your action; we’ll set up a team there to pick off the leftists.” He and his gang tell her they’ll be stationed in a nearby bar: “We’ll mobilise and hide out at Bobar.” Their objective was to attack left-wing students by surprise.
Further on, the Nemesis activist suggests to him: “We can just be two or three girls, handing out leaflets wherever you want to catch them, a bit like bait. We won’t claim [the action] as being from Nemesis.” Calixte Guy replies: “Honestly, do it (…) Nothing will ever happen to you as a woman.” Contrary to the media narrative, the far-right activists have in fact never been threatened. They claimed to have been “protected” from an imaginary attack, by Quentin Deranque and his gang, but everyone knows perfectly well that this is false, including themselves. They risk nothing except being insulted and having their egos bruised.
The Nemesis activist still asks her neo-Nazi friend: “You’ll be numerous enough if they’ve mobilized on their end, are you sure? I don’t want you getting yourselves killed for us because we won’t be able to help you.”
An ambush went wrong for the attackers. Ultimately, that’s the only conclusion everyone should have drawn from this sad affair, if our media weren’t controlled by far-right billionaires.
The minute of silence was politically reprehensible . With these developments, it becomes ludicrous.
The media and leaders are completely unconcerned by “lynchings” and “political violence.” Otherwise, the Paris attack a year ago would have generated as much publicity as the death of Quentin Deranque. But violence is only condoned when it comes from the reactionary camp.
This case reveals a harsh reality: what antifascists are being criticised for is not letting themselves be murdered without reacting.
Neo-Nazi attacks have been happening for years , and their perpetrators boast about “smashing the heads” of antifascists. People are left for dead, silently, far from the media spotlight, and without any real consequences. The real criticism is that this time, it’s the neo-Nazis who have lost. This charade has gone on long enough. The arrested antifascists must be released.