The scene is to say the least macabre and of incredible violence. It represents a member of the forces of order who died in the middle of a bloodbath. Above his body is mentioned the inscription “666 points”. Right next to it, two individuals – one with a drill and the other with a nunchaku – threaten a man dressed in black and wearing a “Bac” armband referring to the anti-crime squad. To complete this sordid decor, garbage, broken glass bottles and droppings. The whole of this “work” is represented under an evocative title also stained with blood: “Acab game”, an insulting and anti-police slogan.
This illustration was visible on a stand set up last weekend in the Parc de la Roseraie in Nantes on the occasion of the festival entitled “Les Scènes Vagabondes”. Beyond the shocking nature of this drawing, the fact that this cultural event is organized by the City of Nantes has also created controversy. A surfer was also moved by Le Figaro. “Nice the stand paid for by the Nantes taxpayer at the Les Scènes Vagabondes festival. Good atmosphere these days,” he wrote. An ironic message in reference to the current riots after the death of Nahel, this young man killed in Nanterre by a police officer after refusing to comply.
For its part, the local daily Presse Océan was able to speak with a participant in the festival, who indicates that she tried to alert the organizers as well as the community via social networks. “How is it possible that the city of Nantes brings to light images inciting violence, and even more serious: the death of human beings”, she wonders. The case then took a political turn. “Nantes falls into the hands of those who advocate hatred of the Republic and the police,” wrote opposition municipal councilor and former deputy for Loire-Atlantique Valérie Oppelt (Renaissance) on Twitter.
Several members of the opposition group from the right and from the center “Better living in Nantes” have also expressed their anger on social networks. This Tuesday morning, these elected officials sent a press release with a scathing title. Entitled “The town hall of Nantes spreads the poison of anti-cop hatred with the money of the people of Nantes”, he signs a charge against the community accused of “incompetence” and “cynicism”. The organizers of the event, who would have “nothing to do in the service of the inhabitants”, are accused of having “left to imagine, draw, print, install, animate this despicable ‘game'”. City hall officials also take it for their rank: “The ideological complicity with the far left of the majority elected representatives of Nantes is an insult to the work of the police and to the victims among them of the urban violence of recent days.” In addition, they say they want “the authors of this unspeakable drift” to answer for their actions in court.
Legal consequences that could well take place. The prefect of Loire-Atlantique, Fabrice Rigoulet-Roze, announced to seize the public prosecutor under article 40 of the Code of criminal procedure so that these “calls to hatred” do not remain “unpunished”. In passing, the senior official indicated that he gave “his full and complete support” as well as his “deep gratitude” to the police.
In response, the City of Nantes denies any involvement and responsibility in the production and distribution of this anti-police illustration. On Twitter, the PS mayor, Johanna Rolland, denounced “with the greatest firmness” the decor in question. “At no time was this dressing of the refreshment bar, managed by members of an associative collective, presented or validated by the organizing team, which was therefore unable to take cognizance of the drawings and inscriptions beforehand. “, she said.
The drawings “were quickly hidden after a person from the public came to question one of the organizers on this subject”, added the first deputy secretary of the PS. However, according to the testimony collected by Presse Océan, a simple piece of cardboard was taped to the image of the dead policeman to hide the inscription “police”. Another surprising element: in a tweet published on its account on Friday June 30 – since deleted – the city of Nantes promoted the Vagabond Scenes with an image in which it is possible to see the anti-police banner at the origin of the controversy .
According to Johanna Rolland, an internal investigation was launched to “understand what had led to this situation”. The city councilor specifies that those responsible for the banner “obviously will no longer be able to participate in the next editions” of the festival. As for the organization team of the event, it must receive “a strict call to order for its lack of collective vigilance which led to the presence of these totally unacceptable stand dressing elements”.
