July 7, 2014
The case dates back to October 20, 2012 and concerns the occupation of the Grand Mosque of Poitiers by Generation Identity, a far right youth movement that occupied the mosque during its construction. According to the group’s website, its goal is to “banish scum, those who want to police our lives and our thoughts, mass immigration, schools that hide the history of our people, etc.”
The two presidents Damien Rieu and Arnaud Delrieux were arraigned on July 4. Rieux, the group’s spokesperson, was held in police custody for theft and incitement of racial hate, among other charges. Delrieux was not present during the incident but was indicted for complicity.
Additionally, the group itself was indicted as a corporation. More than seventy of its members were present on October 20, 2012 but only six have been implicated in the case. In a joint statement the two leaders denounced the “judiciary harassment of socialist power.”
