Saturday in Donzère

Minister of Immigration Eric Besson is in the news more than Nicolas Sarkozy these days. His now-notorious statement that France is not a people, or a language, or a territory, or a religion, but a conglomerate of peoples, etc... will no doubt come back to haunt him for the rest of his term in office, and beyond. The remark has the great distinction of being not only against France, but inadvertently FOR France, since it aroused the ire of the Ligue du Sud (Southern League) and the Bloc Identitaire. A quick reminder that the Ligue is a new party formation that has joined with the various identitarian movements that represent the regional identities of France. Together, they form a new and hopefully effective patriotic front.

Novopress, the news agency that serves the Bloc Identitaire, has a series of articles with videos and photos of yesterday's demonstration against Eric Besson, in the city of Donzère (department of Drôme), where Besson is mayor. It is normal for French politicians to hold more than one position, and many of Sarkozy's appointees are also mayors.

The demonstration drew only about 200 persons, but it was sufficient to serve at least as a symbol of what many other Frenchmen must have felt (and Donzère is a small town).

Below, the sign says "Masters in our own land".


Below, a daring act in this age of political and racial correctness: the words of Charles de Gaulle:

"We are above all a European people of the white race, of Greek and Latin culture, and of the Christian religion. Otherwise, France would not be France."


Below, the police counted 200 demonstrators, the Bloc Identitaire counted about 250. For once, the figures are close. What is certain is that Eric Besson was not expecting such a mobilization. After thinking he would come to talk to the demonstrators, he changed his mind.


Below, (and notice how the photo masks their eyes, as if to protect them) a group of "young people" who could have stepped out of the Seine-Saint-Denis suburbs. They looked on sullenly, but they did not react. It wasn't the moment...


Below, the sign reads "No National Identity without Local Identities", an important move towards recognition of the various ethnic European roots of France, without discarding the notion of one nation being formed from this variety. In his speech, the leader of the Bloc identitaire, Fabrice Robert said:

"We Frenchmen are diverse. But not in the way they are saying (...) We are Frenchmen, but we are also Provençaux, Dauphinois, Alsatians, Bretons.... There is no contradiction between these identities, but an interaction."

Well said.


Below, a smokey scene (not sure where the smoke came from):


In the scene below Fabrice Robert, chairman of the Bloc Identitaire takes the mike to address the crowd. The caption by Novopress reads:

Who would have thought it possible? We are in front of the Donzère City Hall, and Fabrice Robert proclaims: "They don't like it here? Well, let them go home! Let's get the charter planes ready so that they can fully live their own identity in their own country!" He then goes on, targeting the mayor: "Eric Besson is the archetype of the lying deceitful politician, concerned only with his ego, his career. As mayor of Donzère, he knows that French identity has existed for centuries. Just 100 yards from here, there is the twelfth-century church, a Cluny site. There is this historic center that we have just passed through that has not changed since medieval times. Eric Besson knows all that. But he says and does the opposite. He is proof that we are not fighting against a virtual System, but against a syndicate of interests, composed of real men. He is proof that we do not live in a Greek democracy, in a republic of the ancient world. We live in a plutocracy served by the most vile, the most base, by those who serve themselves before serving the people."


Below, more "young people", with a policeman visible on the right. Their sign reads "Viva l'Algérie". The caption reads:

Integrated? Frenchmen like any other? While Fabrice Robert was speaking, a group of about ten "young people" express their disapproval. An identitarian conception of French identity? Clearly not something of concern to them. "One two three, go back to your home country" chanted the crowd in imitation of the words of the song sung by Diam's (a France-hating rap singer recently converted to Islam): "One two three, Viva l'Algérie!"


In any case, on this Saturday in the department of the Drôme, the supporters of Eric Besson showed their true face.

At YouTube you can view a short video of the event as reported by France 3. Predictably, the identitarians are presented as "extreme right-wingers and xenophobes", with affiliations to the Front National and claims of white supremicism. The reporter emphasizes that the police had to be called in, and disparages the idea that the regional identities can constitute a national identity. However, LouStockfish, the author of the video contradicts France 3:

A very gross misinformation from the France 3 journalist as usual! The slogans were not at all about the "white race". There was absolutely no racial slant or even any confrontations, though the "young" ultra-provocateur Maghrebins hurled projectiles, forcing the riot police to intervene in several spots during the march!!! There you have a wretched manipulation by the left-wing press that has nothing better to do than to compromise itself even more by spreading calumny and falsifying reality. The people of Donzère were surprised and many smiled on hearing the slogans they approved of!

French readers can read the text of Fabrice Robert's speech here.