A local association of anti-fascist activists was vandalized in Angers in January, an operation claimed on social networks by “
Angers Nationaliste
”, a small group with neo-Nazi ideology, concordant sources indicated on Friday.
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“January 2021 Angers Nationaliste: attack on the
L'Étincelle
antifa squat
.
Capture and destruction of hundreds of posters and thousands of antifa sticks, capture of their flags, banners and weapons, as well as hundreds of militant books.
It was all burned in the squat's backyard, ”read a post on Wednesday's ultra-right“
West Casual
”
Facebook page
.
The association had filed a complaint on January 12 for “
attempted break-in
”.
“
We think they are people close to the local identity of Angers, the Alvarium.
This is the first time they have entered our premises, we feel a desire to increase the level of violence and that worries us a lot for our city,
”Jon, member of L'Etincelle, told AFP.
In a text published Thursday on its website, the association denounces "
a cowardly aggression on the part of the extreme right
", during the weekend of January 9 and 10, with "
broken windows, stolen and degraded equipment and books burned in autodafé
”.
“
(...) These worthy descendants of Nazism burned books in our garden.
And the presence on their photo of the infamous skull of the Waffen-SS and a Nazi salute only reinforces this assumed filiation
", continue the activists of the local self-managed associations, who evoke a"
deleterious Angevin context where the extreme right gains more and more confidence
”.
In a press release on Friday, the LGBTI + center in Angers recalls that the Spark "
has already been the victim of far-right tags in 2015 and attacks by its members in 2018
".
The city of Angers condemned on Twitter “
all extremism, violence, exaction
”.
"
That a small group claims them with references to Nazi ideology adds to the unacceptable ignominy,
" she added.
The mayor's entourage told AFP that the town hall, which owns the premises, reserved "
the right to lodge a complaint due to the nature of these events
".