It is a demonstration as rarely the small town of Callac, in the Côtes-d'Armor, has known.
Several hundred people demonstrated this Saturday in a tense atmosphere, some to denounce and others to support a controversial project to welcome refugees in this rural town.
A few projectiles and tear gas were fired during a face-to-face between the police and part of the procession of project defenders who were trying to join the gathering of opponents, supported in particular by several members of Reconquest, the party of Éric Zemmour.
"It's only low-level political recovery," said Laure-Line Inderbitzin, deputy mayor of Callac, a town she describes as a "welcoming land".
This town of 2,400 inhabitants was chosen by the Merci private endowment fund for a project to welcome political refugees.
Baptized “Horizon” and “based around the professional reintegration” of refugees benefiting from a ten-year residence permit, this project aims to revitalize this rural town.
The Reconquest party leads the opposition
The project received the approval of the municipal council of Callac, but met with opposition, in particular from an association, “Les Amis de Callac et des environs.
Led by a former regional councilor of the National Rally who became a member of Reconquest, Catherine Blein, this one asks for the organization of a referendum on the subject in the commune (which would be illegal, recalled the prefecture).
Auric Zagli, a 68-year-old retiree and opponent of the project, believes that “there is truly a problem of insecurity which is due to immigration which is far too high”.
The two gatherings were surrounded by a large police force, including more than a hundred gendarmes and a cordon separating the two groups.
A few hundred meters apart, they took place at the same time in front of the town hall, where several opponents including MEP Gilbert Collard (Reconquest) took the floor, and on the outskirts of the town where the defenders of the project met during a festive picnic.
A similar double demonstration took place in Callac in September.
