A few hours after the clashes between Turkish and Armenian communities on Wednesday morning on the A7 motorway near Vienne (Isère), it was in Décines (Rhône), in the Lyon suburbs, that the Armenian-Turkish conflict was again expressed .
Ignoring the imperatives of the curfew, a hundred cars driven by representatives of the Turkish community crossed the central rue de Décines (Rhône) on Wednesday evening waving Turkish flags, honking their horns, calling for violence, until 'to death threats: "We are going to kill the Armenians", "Where are the Armenians?"
", " God is great ".
A descent claimed on social networks by the Gray Wolves, representatives of the Turkish ultra-right, supporters of Erdogan.
"We wanted to prevent them from destroying everything"
In this city of 30,000 inhabitants, which has a large Armenian community, the town hall, alerted by the events in Vienna and the calls relayed on the Internet had nevertheless taken the lead.
“We called on the police, we closed the shops run by Armenians from 5 pm as well as the national center of Armenian memory.
Décines found itself under the surveillance of the national police, CRS, municipal police, cameras ”, confides LR mayor of the town, Laurence Fautra.
“We feared the arrival of these individuals, we wanted to prevent them from destroying everything, that has already been the case.
"
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These precautions did not prevent the arrival of the troublemakers.
"They landed, but were quickly reframed by the police," explains the mayor.
65 reports for non-compliance with the curfew were drawn up, but without arrests.
“We are studying the legal consequences to be given to this event.
We will try to identify and prosecute as many of these dangerous individuals as possible ”, proclaims Me Charles Consigny, lawyer for the Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Cause (CDCA), which does not rule out complaints.
VIDEO. "Where are the Armenians": Turks on a punitive expedition to Décines
"Let them go to war at home"
If the town hall anticipated, with the police headquarters, the descent of these young Turks, it is because the town has already been the target of violence.
On July 24, a group of extremists identified as "Gray Wolves" had already come to sow panic during a rally of the Armenian community, with mortar fire and sacking Armenian businesses.
Their leader, Ahmed Cetin, originally from Oyonnax, was tried by the Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) criminal court on September 17.
The court decision is expected on November 5.
"These young people are not from here", estimates Laurence Fautra.
“In Décines, all the communities live together in peace.
We are witnessing a rise in power of these groups in connection with what is happening in their country, but they must understand that we are here in France, in the Republic.
Let them go to war at home.
"
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The elected pleads for a dissolution of these groups.
Just like the Licra, which seized this Thursday justice in this direction.
"The Gray Wolves, a violent ultranationalist Turkish organization, yesterday organized in Vienna and Décines real
pogroms
against members of the Armenian community", denounces the association for the fight against racism and anti-Semitism.
