A first suspect was arrested on Tuesday, October 20, in the investigation into the fire at the town hall of Limoges (Haute-Vienne). This 34-year-old man, originally from Creuse, has already committed violence against the police: he is listed as S for his membership of the ultra-left. Is his profile representative of the people who committed violence, Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18, in several cities in France against the police, as well as damage to public buildings, property and businesses? Many political figures, particularly within the government, accuse the ultra-left.
“Factious” from these small groups would have been “joined by numerous delinquents”, engaging together “in unbridled violence in our cities”, denounced Emmanuel Macron in his speech on Sunday evening. The Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, pointed out the responsibility of this movement in the deteriorations since Saturday, reiterating his accusations on Tuesday, evoking before the National Assembly "the planning of an insurrectional plan" of the ultra-left in connection with the extreme left. In turn, on Tuesday on BFMTV, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon saw in this violence the work of "the rabble", "delinquents", but also "organized ultra-left movements" and "small groups of the extreme left", denouncing their "planning of insurrection".
“Violent” and “radical” small groups, located “outside the parties”
The intelligence services, however, differentiate between "extreme left" and "ultraleft", the first entering "into the republican field", such as La France Insoumise (LFI), according to a security source at France Télévisions, who emphasizes that this party did not participate in the violence last weekend. Unlike the members of the ultra-left, grouped in "small violent, radical groups, on the fringes of the democratic and republican field", which are located "outside the political parties", details the security source. With one thing in common between the two: “the fight against fascism”.
“And against capitalism,” adds Sylvain Boulouque, historian of political radicalism and social movements, contacted by franceinfo. Rather than "small groups", he prefers to speak of "affinity groups gathering here and there to participate in violent actions". Information estimates that there are around 5,000 throughout the territory, some living in squats, others being students or young working people who are well – or even very well – integrated.
While it is impossible to establish a precise count, it is clear that this movement has been "increasing in recent years", according to Isabelle Sommier, professor of political sociology at Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne University, specialist in social movements and political violence. She reminds franceinfo that in 2022, territorial information spoke of a movement of “2,500 to 3,000 people”. They are found a lot in the West, in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) and Nantes in particular, but also in Notre-Dame-des-Landes (Loire-Atlantique), which has become one of the strongholds of ultra-left activists, just like Dijon (Côte-d'Or), adds the information. “In Marseille, there are also more and more of them, observes Sylvain Boulouque. As well as in Limoges”, in Haute-Vienne.
A culture of confrontation with the police, rather than looting
The security source claims that members of this movement were present at Place de la République in Paris before the start of the demonstration against the high cost of living on Saturday, with "clashes which began at 1 p.m. with the police". The ultra-left remained there "for most of the day", specifies this same source. An observation shared by Sylvain Boulouque who noted “a strong fixation abscess” in this place. “For several hours, the [members of the] black bloc confronted the CRS, giving rise to spectacular images, with a clear and symbolic confrontation between the two camps,” he noted.
The information, however, underlines that ultra-left activists are not responsible for the numerous lootings in the capital, which emanated from a "mix of people" responding "to calls on social networks" encouraging them to come to Paris, details the security source. An observation shared by the researchers interviewed by franceinfo. The priority of ultra-left activists "is to attack the police and the symbols of capitalism, with the destruction of McDonald's or large retail chains like Monoprix", explains Sylvain Boulouque.
“It is certainly not them who are going to attack small traders as was largely the case this weekend.”
Sylvain Boulouque, historian of political radicalism and social movements
at franceinfo
“Looting remains marginal among members of the ultra-left, it is absolutely not systematic,” adds Isabelle Sommier, adding however that they are not going to condemn it, since the thefts from looted stores are considered “a reappropriation of what they describe as capitalist thefts”. “When this happened in previous mobilizations, there were debates and the majority of activists criticized the act of breaking a newsstand for example,” reports the sociologist.
An “unprecedented alliance” at work on October 17?
The intelligence services, however, estimated that "an unprecedented alliance" had been created during this weekend between the ultra-left and the "young people of the city", the security source told France Télévisions. “The objective” of the “ultra-left” on Saturday was above all to “create anarchy, to bring down institutions”, by attacking prefectures and town halls in particular, as well as institutional buildings as a whole. To do this, its members relied, according to this source, on “young people from the neighborhoods” who provided “fuel” for their movement.
An analysis rejected by Isabelle Sommier, believing that “we are not there at all”. For the researcher, there was no “consultation” between these two groups. To which Sylvain Boulouque subscribes: “They acted at the same time, but there was no alliance. This term is not the right one”.
No confirmation at this stage for those in custody
It is difficult to know if some are among those arrested since Saturday in the capital, the Paris public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, being unable to "absolutely not confirm" that the people placed in police custody under her jurisdiction would be "politicized towards the ultra-left", she declared on TF1 on Monday. The magistrate thus contradicted the analysis of the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, who continued to insist on the responsibility of ultra-left networks in the urban violence, throughout the weekend. The prosecutor particularly stressed that many of the people arrested “do not claim a political position”.
