On the evening of Friday January 21, several incidents broke out on the sidelines of an antifa demonstration in downtown Nantes. During this torchlight procession, several shop windows were damaged and an altercation took place in a bar in the city. Two people were arrested and taken into custody following the incidents. Shortly before the demonstration degenerated, the 5th deputy mayor of Nantes, Tristan Riom (EELV), had relayed this demonstration on the social network Twitter, evoking “a torchlight march against the far right”.
A tweet that went badly in the eyes of the elected officials of the opposition, whose reactions were quick to rain, reproaching the deputy for his presence in this demonstration. The Republicans criticize Johanna Rolland, the mayor of Nantes and spokesperson for Anne Hidalgo for the presidential election, for not having “deemed it appropriate to condemn this presence or to show her support for the police”. “To ransack windows, to set fire to our stores, obviously falls for Tristan Riom from the local folklore”, castigate the elected officials LR in a press release.
An “unwelcome” tweet
The mayor of Nantes “condemns with the greatest firmness” this violence and degradation. Just like the elected environmentalists of Nantes. Without quoting the deputy Tristan Riom. The latter, moreover, explained himself, always on Twitter, following this political controversy: “The demonstration passed in front of a bar where I was with friends, I went out to understand”, indicates the elected representative of the Nantes majority. He explains that he was present at the demonstration “as a simple passer-by” and that his message (deleted from the networks) was “unwelcome”.
Last night, a demonstration degenerated in #Nantes
As an elected official and resident, I condemn this violence and want to show my support for the people who have suffered it, especially those who work in bars, as well as for the people who will have to clean up this morning.
(1/6)— Tristan Nantes (@TristanNantes) January 22, 2022
The town hall of Nantes proposed a quick meeting with the traders concerned by these degradations, as well as with the associations of traders.