Turks Demonstrate in Saint-Etienne

Turkish nationalists paraded loudly through the streets of Saint-Etienne on Saturday night in protest against attacks by the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) on Turkish soldiers in the province of Hakkari, in which 26 Turks were killed.

The information comes from Islamisation, via Le Progrès:

The store-front of a bar on rue Antoine-Durafour was shattered yesterday evening around 4:00 p.m. The owner, Richard Sissi declared: "I am a Frenchman of Kurdish origin. When the Turkish demonstration passed in front of my store, some of them said, in Turkish, 'Set it on fire'. Some wanted to return home. My cashier who is pregnant became ill. She went to the ER. Then the demonstrators broke my store window. I don't think it was by chance that they came this way." Richard does not understand this attack: "Here, we do our job. I employ nine people. We don't care about politics or religion. I'm not a part of the PKK. We're in France. They should demonstrate against the PKK!"

He is still wondering why the police did not intervene. "They told me they didn't have enough men. Tonight I'm afraid for myself and my family. (…)

Note: The demonstrators never obtained permission from the prefecture to hold their rally. About sixty persons, with Turkish flags camped on the steps of City Hall (see first video above), then a march was quickly organized and they traveled along the main thoroughfare (see second video above), only to come back via rue Antoine-Durafour.

The Turkish presence in France is often overlooked amidst the massive North African immigration. If Turkey is admitted to the EU, Turks living in France will feel empowered to make their presence more strongly felt. Not only Kurds, but Armenians as well may begin to feel uneasy.

The store owner displays the usual surprise a the ferocity of the demonstrators. Why such naïveté? He says: "We're in France". Since he's in France, where crime is common and police are impotent, he should not be so surprised. Below, Richard Sissi in front of his store.