The snapshot, taken on Saturday afternoon during the Paris demonstration against the vaccine pass, quickly became viral on social networks: a few dozen people, all dressed in black, for some hooded, in a posture that could remind of a Nazi salute . ” Paris, France. Around 200 neo-Nazis, arms outstretched, in the middle of the street, at the heart of the anti-pass demonstration. Everything is fine, ”says in the caption the independent journalist Daphné Deschamps, who posted the photo on Twitter.
The next day, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, indicated that he had asked the Paris police headquarters to report to the courts. “This photo taken on the sidelines of the anti-pass demonstration of the so-called “Patriots” movement shocks a lot, and rightly so”, specifies the tenant of Place Beauvau. If the snapshot was taken on the sidelines of the demonstration organized by Florian Philippot, the latter categorically refutes the accusations: according to the former executive of the National Front, the demonstrators were not giving a Nazi salute but participating in a “clapping”, this gesture of supporters which consists of clapping their hands above the head at regular intervals. He accompanies his tweet with a video taken at the same time – the buildings in the background are identical – in which we actually see the activists doing a clapping.
Clap your hands and shout freedom! this is what was on the blurry photo of Mr. Darmanin.
➡️ M.Darmanin has once again lied, and seriously defamed.
We are considering legal action. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/h8cvmYlvTK— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot) January 16, 2022
A clapping… but neo-Nazi symbols
“The majority of the demonstrators were indeed clapping even if there were Nazi salutes during the demonstration”, confirms with 20 minutes Daphné Deschamps, who specifies from the outset that she was not present on Saturday in the demonstration for fear of being the victim of an attack like two AFP reporters, violently attacked by around fifty people. The photos, she explains, come from the Telegram channel “Ouest Casual” popular with the identity movement. On closer inspection, we actually see that the majority of the protagonists have both arms in the air, even if the angle of the photo and the fact that they are all dressed in black fuel the confusion.
“I never wrote that it was ‘Nazi salutes’ but 200 neo-Nazis with outstretched arms, it’s different”, specifies the journalist specializing in far-right movements. She thus recalls that the group – which defines itself as a “white block” – parades behind a banner stamped with a quote from the anti-Semitic writer Charles Maurras, “liberties are not granted, they are taken” . On other photos of the demonstration published within the same Telegram channel, we can also see a black flag with a Celtic cross, a neo-Nazi symbol which was notably recovered by the GUD, the far-right trade union Groupe union defense, renowned for his violent actions. When one symbol replaces another.