On May 16, the identity rock group Les Francs-Tireurs Patriotes announced on its Facebook page that it was going to perform “in Lille, on June 9, friends”. A secret event, at least confidential enough to have passed under the radar of the authorities. But, after the pot of roses was revealed by our colleagues from the Voice of the NorthLille town hall and prefecture reacted, the first asking for the concert to be banned and the second taking, this Wednesday, an order to this effect.
Thus, on the instructions of the Minister of the Interior himself, the prefect of Hauts-de-France “prohibited, by decree of June 7, 2023, throughout the Nord department, the concert of the music group “Les Francs-Tireurs Patriotes” (FTP) scheduled for Friday, June 9, 2023”, we learned from the prefecture. A decision justified by “the events that occurred during the previous performances of this group”, explains the prefecture, in particular the “comments inciting racial hatred and violence against people of the Jewish religion”. In the lyrics of the songs of FTP, the representative of the State also underlines “the apology of the crimes committed by the Nazis”.
“A serious threat to public order”
In addition to the nauseating side of the message conveyed by the group, the banning of the concert is justified by “the reactions” that this can generate, with a “serious threat to public order”.
On its Facebook page, the group, which has nearly 3,500 fans, did not react to this ban. The “Association to support identity and patriotic movements”, Asmip, which was to pocket the benefits of the concert, will have to find another source of income to pay the legal costs of “patriots and whistleblowers”. Note that this same association has launched a kitty for the identity bar La Citadelle, in Lille, engaged in legal proceedings for 20,000 euros after having wanted to organize an evening “Let them return to Africa”.