Le Figaro Lyon
This is not the first time that the depot of the association Ditib hosts a vote in Décines-Charpieu, but it is the first time since French law prohibits voting in religious premises. As for the 2018 parliamentary elections, the Turkish Consulate General in Lyon rented a room adjoining the mosque administered by this structure - and belonging to it - for the organization of postal voting operations for the Turkish presidential election this month of May 2023, as revealed by Le Point. A choice contested before the administrative court by a Kurdish association and an opponent of the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also filed a complaint for assault in the parking lot on the evening of the first round. They are asking for the annulment of the prefectural decision authorizing the holding of elections on this site.
Like the MP for the constituency Sarah Tanzilli (LREM), they question the legality of this choice in view of Article 35 recently added to the law on the separation of Church and State. Invested in favor of the Armenian cause before her election in this constituency, where strong Turkish and Armenian communities coexist, sometimes chaotically, the elected representative of the majority alerted the public prosecutor for the second round, which is held until Tuesday evening. The mayor of the commune, Laurence Fautra (LR), meanwhile, questioned the prefecture after having to draw up, through its municipal police, 200 parking tickets during the first round, between April 27 and May 9. The information went back to the Place Beauvau, whose tenant, Gérald Darmanin, had precisely carried the project to amend the law of 1905.
Registered as a cultural association
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It is forbidden to hold political meetings in premises usually used for the exercise of a religion or in their dependencies which constitute an inseparable accessory, the text has been providing since the summer of 2021. It is forbidden to organize voting operations for French or foreign political elections in premises usually used for the exercise of worship or used by a religious association" However, Ditib is a federation of associations administering mosques for the Turkish State. Abbreviation of Diyanet Işleri Türk Islam Birliği (Turkish-Islamic Union of Religious Affairs in English), it is attached to the Ministry of Religious Affairs which provides it with imams civil servants.
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The text is crystal clear and says very clearly that a French or foreign election cannot be held in premises hosting a cult, either directly or in its ancillary premises, "says Thomas Benages who filed two separate appeals before the administrative court of Lyon on behalf of the opponent Tuna Altinel and the association Kurdish Friendships. The first, in summary liberty, concerned the difficulties of access to the vote of the militant. It was rejected on Saturday but mentioned the second, called "useful measure". Which asks the administrative judge to rule with regard to the amended law of 1905 and is not urgent.
For its part, the prefecture recalls that it has not taken formal authorization and considers to be legally in the nails. "Ditib is registered as a cultural association and not a religious one," says Fabienne Buccio's office. "There is no doubt that they also have cultural activities," retorts Sarah Tanzilli. But the cult character of this association is not in doubt." Its vocation of administration of the nearby mosque says nothing else. However, in his decision delivered Saturday, the administrative judge considers that "the organization in this building of the elections for the second round does not constitute a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the principle of secularism".
The premises are adjacent to the place of worship but distinct, it is insisted on the prefecture side. It would not be used for religious activities. "The consulate says the building numbers are not the same but it's the same plot," says Tuna Altinel. They are seven or eight meters apart and as soon as you need to eat or go to the toilet, you have to do it in the mosque building." Moreover, the calls to prayer and its progress are widely audible from the "deposit" which serves as a polling station, according to the opponent. Sarah Tanzilli recalls that on the communications of the AKP, the party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "the address of the polling station mentioned for Lyon was 'Ditib'".
Pro-Erdogan powerful in the Rhône
"Some local AKP cadres also sit on Ditib's board," Altinel said. The committee for the defense of the Armenian cause had stressed the links of affiliation between the association Ditib and the AKP, announcing in passing to seize the Minister of the Interior concerning the use of the room. "This mosque belongs directly to the outgoing president," insists Laurence Fautra. It is in Erdogan's movement like most structures on French territory." Very strong among the diaspora, the outgoing president won 64.24% of the votes cast out of the 397,000 registered voters in France. A much higher score in the Rhône, where "the establishment of pro-Erdogan is very strong," says Tuna Altinel.
The Lyon mathematician, known for having been held for two years in Turkey and imprisoned for 80 days for his political commitment, makes the link between the organization of elections on the Ditib campus and his attack on May 9. "If the locals were neutral, they would not have dared to do what they do," he said, mentioning new intimidation Sunday night by nationalists. Sarah Tanzilli's letter also mentioned a potential reconstitution of a dissolved league concerning the gray wolves movement, at the origin of the attack of May 9 according to the victims.
For its part, Ditib did not wish to comment on the situation and merely confirms the rental of the premises by the consulate, referring to the latter, which did not respond to our requests. The origin of this relocation to Décines is known and linked to the difficulties of access and the disturbances that occurred in the past in the 6th arrondissement, where the consulate is located. However, there is no shortage of rooms in Lyon and nothing forced to choose that of the Ditib, point out the opponents.