A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #369 - Spotlight - Judicial Repression: Support for Comrades Arrested for Defending Abortion Rights (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

While fundamentalist Catholics organized a rally in Metz against the 
constitutionalization of abortion, activists defended the right to 
bodily autonomy. The result: several arrests, including one from the UCL 
(Union of Catholic Students). The police and the justice system have 
chosen their side, and it is not that of emancipation. ---- On March 9, 
2024, the day after the National Assembly voted to constitutionalize 
abortion, the far right in Metz organized a "protest" mass in the city's 
cathedral against this symbolic measure protecting the right to bodily 
autonomy. This was followed by a gathering on the cathedral square for 
public prayers.

Left-wing and human rights organizations[1]called for a 
counter-demonstration to ensure that this public display of reactionary 
ideas did not go unanswered. It was in this context that a group of 
activists from the local UCL Nancy chapter traveled to Metz to support 
this anti-patriarchal action. This counter-demonstration, held on the 
morning of March 9th in front of the cathedral, proceeded peacefully 
until the end of Mass and the departure of the fundamentalist Catholic 
activists.

About fifteen fundamentalists then confronted the counter-demonstration 
on the cathedral steps. After a few minutes of confrontation, the 
reactionaries began to agitate, filming, and then brandish royalist 
flags as a provocation. This escalation was followed by antisemitic 
insinuations and remarks from the fundamentalists, who are quite 
accustomed to being able to display their racism in public with 
impunity. Among these reactionaries were Cassandre Fristot, a notorious 
antisemite, and other figures from local conspiracy theory and 
fundamentalist circles.

Amidst these altercations, several people attempted to intervene and 
defend themselves, including a fellow student from UCL Nancy, but were 
quickly overwhelmed by the fundamentalists. It was at this point that 
the police, present (but keeping their distance) from the scene since 
the beginning, decided to intervene, assaulting members of the 
counter-protest with batons. Three people, including our comrade, were 
struck, restrained, and then arrested. Naturally, there were no arrests 
on the other side, their sense of impunity manifesting itself in further 
provocations: fundamentalist and royalist flags were waved above the 
activists held down on the ground by the police. A fourth person, a 
young feminist activist, was also caught by the police. But a swift 
reaction from the counter-protest allowed her to be released without 
being arrested.

The three people arrested were taken to the Metz police station and held 
there until the end of the day. One of the three, a victim of 
transphobia at the hands of the police, was deeply affected by the 
experience. Victims of judicial repression for defending the right to 
bodily autonomy, the three comrades will stand trial on May 19 for 
aggravated assault. If you wish to support this fight against the 
judicial repression of a UCL activist, a fundraising campaign has been 
launched to cover their legal fees[2].

Mattéo and Mathilde (UCL Nancy)

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[1]Including members of Révolution Permanente, the Anarchist Federation, 
feminist and LGBTQ+ collectives, and of course, UCL.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Repression-judiciaire-Soutien-aux-camarades-interpelle-es-pour-avoir-defendu-l
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