On Saturday, Place de la République, supporters of Sahrawi autonomy and those of Moroccan unity organized a demonstration and counter-demonstration. Violence broke out.
Hello,
On the sidelines of the demonstration against the comprehensive security law on Saturday, clashes erupted in Paris, Place de la République, around a completely different subject: Western Sahara. The mobilization of the two camps – some in favor of the independence of this territory in the south of Morocco, the others defending the unity of the Shereefian kingdom – seems to have turned into an exchange of blows. Many photos and videos are circulating online to mount the rather peaceful mobilizations on both sides. But some images also show strong tensions, jostling and attacks with sticks.
Sahrawi demonstration and Moroccan counter-demonstration
Several decades old, the opposition between Morocco and the separatists of the Polisario Front was revived on November 13 when gunfire broke out in Guerguérat, on the border with Mauritania. Each side accuses the other of having violated the agreements supposed to guarantee the ceasefire signed in 1991.
At the beginning of the week, associations of the Sahrawi community call for a gathering in Paris, this Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. In the following days, it was the Moroccan community in France which organized a counter-demonstration, supposed to start at 1:30 p.m., at the same place and on the same day, according to several messages posted on social networks.
A certain number of Facebook live (videos filmed and broadcast live on the social network) from the two camps then allow us to reconstruct with some precision the course of this afternoon. At 1:30 p.m., a contingent of people with Moroccan flags is located at the foot of the Monument to the Republic, in the center of the square.
Further south, a few tens of meters away, supporters of the independence of Western Sahara are also present, from 2 p.m. They can be recognized in particular by the flags of Western Sahara they wear (black, white and green bands, bordered by a red triangle and in the middle of which is a red crescent and star). Around 3:30 p.m., the situation still seems relatively calm. On the independence side, we sing a song of “solidarity with the Sahrawis” or “one solution, to stop the occupation”.
Sticks and tear gas sprays
At around 3:50 pm, some supporters of the independent Sahara are still speaking and discussing in the same place, but others – who shout “Polisario” – have approached the Monument to the Republic, and the pro-Morocco. At one point, the two camps, jostling each other, wave their respective flags on the statue.
Without being able to determine why, the tension will escalate further, and members of both sides will come to blows, amidst a dense crowd. This is evidenced by a video filmed from above (which we do not reproduce because we see the face of its author, a teenager).
A video filmed at the same location (and potentially at the same time) was broadcast on the Facebook page of Moroccan television Chouf TV. We see many men armed with what appear to be sticks, on the side of the separatists. Faced with them, the supporters of Rabat retreat. This is also shown in this photo posted on a pro-Morocco account. The tensions last at least until 4:30 p.m., according to another Facebook live.
Two other videos, which we have not been able to place in this chronology but which are probably after the start of the tensions, testify to the violence of this meeting. In one, a man butt heads another (who wears a mask with the coat of arms of the Moroccan kingdom). A second video shows a very confusing situation, in a sparse Republic Square. Two or three people seem to attack the separatists, who move backwards, before starting to pursue those who attacked them. Tear gas sprays appear to be used.
Contacted this Sunday morning, the organizers of the demonstration and the counter-demonstration have not yet responded. The Sahrawi journalist who has taken refuge in France and author of several videos cited in this article, Mohamed Radi Ellili, attributes the “tensions” in the Place de la République to “provocations” from the Moroccan camp.
A police source indicates that the “gathering entitled” solidarity with the Saharawi people “” had indeed been declared Place de la République from 2 pm to 5 pm. And continues: “A brief physical and verbal altercation took place in the square, between the participants and opponents. There were no arrests or injuries recorded by the police. ”
By Fabien Leboucq
