“We had no right of citizenship as white people”: the story of the gratuitous attack on a group of young Catholics in Rouen

Martin, 24, wanted to introduce his friends to croustillons, these round, sweet donuts for which the Foire Saint-Romain in Rouen is famous. (Seine-Maritime) But last Saturday evening, the festive evening came to an end.

On the way to the festivities, the group was suddenly surrounded and then beaten up by a pack of excited young men, determined to break some “facho”. Insulted, punched and kicked, some were seriously injured in the face. Three of them were transported to the emergency room, while four complaints have since been filed for discriminatory violence.

The evening of October 31, however, started very well. “It was my birthday and, the day before, that of one of my friends. To celebrate, we invited relatives to dinner, notably my two little brothers, childhood and study friends,” says Martin. Fifteen boys find themselves around the table, at the home of one of them. The atmosphere…