In France, two former activists of Generation Identity were sentenced to prison, one year for one, six months for the second. Twenty other people are given suspended sentences for violence in meetings according to a judgment by the Marseille criminal court on Thursday. Four years ago, in 2018, these far-right activists stormed into the premises of the SOS Méditerranée association, the NGO which rescues migrants at sea.
In October 2018 in Marseille, around twenty activists from Génération identitaire presented themselves at the bottom of the premises of SOS Méditerranée. Two of them, those who are sentenced to prison, are repeat offenders. They knock, enter with a bang, unfurl banners and smoke bombs. ” A political message “, they defend themselves in court.
The members of the NGO are expelled with violence and at the bar some say they are still traumatized. This decision is a relief according to François Thomas, the president of SOS Méditerranée, at the microphone of Baptiste Coulon of the France service: ” This judgment will allow a reconstruction of the victims, who suffered serious trauma, four years later they are still there. It is certainly not a victory nor revenge. This recognition of the association’s victims is also very important for all those who contribute to these rescues at sea. »
The Identity Generation group was dissolved by the government in March 2021. Thirteen defendants will appeal the judgment rendered by the criminal court. LONG SOS Mediterranean for its part recalls that 36,000 people have been rescued at sea since the creation of the association in 2015.
►To read: France: the far-right group Identity Generation dissolved