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| Eight held over killing of teenage anti-fascist campaigner | Eight held over killing of teenage anti-fascist campaigner |
| (4 months later) | |
| Eight people linked to extreme right groups in France were being questioned by police on Friday after the death of a young anti-fascist campaigner who had been severely beaten in an altercation with skinheads in central Paris. | Eight people linked to extreme right groups in France were being questioned by police on Friday after the death of a young anti-fascist campaigner who had been severely beaten in an altercation with skinheads in central Paris. |
| The death of Clément Meric, 18, has shaken France, with thousands gathering in anti-fascist demonstrations across the country and political soul-searching about whether extreme far-right and neo-Nazi groups – which have been on the fringes of recent anti-gay marriage protests – are enjoying a resurgence and should be banned. | The death of Clément Meric, 18, has shaken France, with thousands gathering in anti-fascist demonstrations across the country and political soul-searching about whether extreme far-right and neo-Nazi groups – which have been on the fringes of recent anti-gay marriage protests – are enjoying a resurgence and should be banned. |
| The fatal altercation started at a private clothing sale in an apartment in central Paris where the main attraction was the British label Fred Perry, whose polo shirts are highly sought after in France by skinheads as well as leftwingers and mods. | The fatal altercation started at a private clothing sale in an apartment in central Paris where the main attraction was the British label Fred Perry, whose polo shirts are highly sought after in France by skinheads as well as leftwingers and mods. |
| The quest to buy reduced-price designer British labels, including Barbour and Ben Sherman, at an event organised by email-invitation, had attracted young people of all types. | The quest to buy reduced-price designer British labels, including Barbour and Ben Sherman, at an event organised by email-invitation, had attracted young people of all types. |
| A few hard-left, anti-fascist activists attending the sale rebuked a handful of skinheads present who wore "white power" and "blood and honour" T-shirts. Outside on the street, in a busy shopping area behind Paris's major department stores, the altercation turned violent, with the skinheads allegedly calling for backup and one possibly using a knuckleduster. | A few hard-left, anti-fascist activists attending the sale rebuked a handful of skinheads present who wore "white power" and "blood and honour" T-shirts. Outside on the street, in a busy shopping area behind Paris's major department stores, the altercation turned violent, with the skinheads allegedly calling for backup and one possibly using a knuckleduster. |
| Meric, who suffered severe injuries from being beaten, is also believed to have hit his head on a metal post. He died in hospital on Thursday. | Meric, who suffered severe injuries from being beaten, is also believed to have hit his head on a metal post. He died in hospital on Thursday. |
| A student at Paris's prestigious Institute of Political Studies and the son of law professors from Brittany, he had beaten leukaemia earlier in life. | A student at Paris's prestigious Institute of Political Studies and the son of law professors from Brittany, he had beaten leukaemia earlier in life. |
| The interior minister, Manuel Valls, blamed "an extreme right group" for the murder. He said there had been a "dangerous discourse" in France for several weeks, a nod to the heated row over same-sex marriage and violent skirmishes on the fringes of the anti-gay marriage movement and demonstrations. | The interior minister, Manuel Valls, blamed "an extreme right group" for the murder. He said there had been a "dangerous discourse" in France for several weeks, a nod to the heated row over same-sex marriage and violent skirmishes on the fringes of the anti-gay marriage movement and demonstrations. |
| The leftwing former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the fact that Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National, which has increased its scores in elections and now has two MPs, had become normalised and "banal" had allowed all types of extreme-right movements to flourish. | The leftwing former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the fact that Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National, which has increased its scores in elections and now has two MPs, had become normalised and "banal" had allowed all types of extreme-right movements to flourish. |
| The hard-left Parti de Gauche warned of "the fascist horror which has killed right at the heart of Paris", while some of Meric's fellow activists called his death "a political murder". | The hard-left Parti de Gauche warned of "the fascist horror which has killed right at the heart of Paris", while some of Meric's fellow activists called his death "a political murder". |
| Le Pen said the attack had nothing to do with her party and the FN had "no contact, near or far" with Meric's attackers. | Le Pen said the attack had nothing to do with her party and the FN had "no contact, near or far" with Meric's attackers. |
| Serge Ayoub, a former skinhead leader in Paris once known as "Batskin" for his baseball bat, and now linked to the extreme-right group Jeunesses Nationalistes Revolutionnaires (Nationalist Revolutionary Youth) denied any members of his group were responsible for Meric's death. | Serge Ayoub, a former skinhead leader in Paris once known as "Batskin" for his baseball bat, and now linked to the extreme-right group Jeunesses Nationalistes Revolutionnaires (Nationalist Revolutionary Youth) denied any members of his group were responsible for Meric's death. |
| The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, called for all groups of "fascist and neo-Nazi inspiration" to be broken up. A scattered array of extreme-right groups in France are thought to have several hundred members. Some have staged public actions, such as the group Génération Identitaire which last year occupied a mosque construction site in Poitiers in protest at the "Islamisation" of France. | The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, called for all groups of "fascist and neo-Nazi inspiration" to be broken up. A scattered array of extreme-right groups in France are thought to have several hundred members. Some have staged public actions, such as the group Génération Identitaire which last year occupied a mosque construction site in Poitiers in protest at the "Islamisation" of France. |
| The right warned against making any link between the death and the anti-gay marriage demonstrations. | The right warned against making any link between the death and the anti-gay marriage demonstrations. |
| The former minister Luc Chatel from the mainstream rightwing UMP said: "Daring to make a link between the murderer who beat Clément Meric to death and the French people who expressed their opinion during the protests [against same-sex marriage and adoption]" was "vile and hateful". | The former minister Luc Chatel from the mainstream rightwing UMP said: "Daring to make a link between the murderer who beat Clément Meric to death and the French people who expressed their opinion during the protests [against same-sex marriage and adoption]" was "vile and hateful". |
| Three people were released after police questioning on Friday night. | Three people were released after police questioning on Friday night. |
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