In the spring of 2015, the "Tavern de Thor" (Thor's Tavern) established a base in Combre-sous-les-Côtes (55). These are premises intended to be used to hold organized activities, conferences and concerts for the international neo-Nazi group the Hammerskins. They are both racist and violent.
In 2013, members of this group knifed a Senegalese man in the middle of downtown Metz simply because he was black.
The Hammerskins are white supremacists which means they openly claim that the "white race" is superior to people of other racial backgrounds. Originally affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party (ANP), they define themselves as "Aryans". They systematically involve themselves in anti-foreigner rallies and racist demonstrations, and aggressively disrupt egalitarian demonstrations such those for the Gay Pride movement.
Previous headquarters for the Hammerskins were located in Lorraine, on a site close to Toul, but this locale was forced to close its doors on Saint Patrick's Day, 16 March 2013, as a result of administrative pressure by the regional council. A few months earlier, as many as 2,000 "white race" militant activists from all over Europe descended on the region to attend a RAC concert (Rock Against Communism), organized by a section associated with the German movement. These allegedly festive gatherings act as a smokescreen — a pretext to hold meetings to circulate an ideology firmly rooted in racial and sexual discrimination. We cannot tolerate this.
Currently, no regional initiatives or administrative measures have been taken to effectively block the Hammerskins from establishing a presence in Combres-sous-les-Côtes, despite more than 50,000 signatures gathered in an online petition calling for the closure of this local and its intended use to promote racial hatred and discrimination.
We refuse to allow a movement which advocates genocide to continue its activities and develop further.
We refuse to allow our region to become a venue for disseminating the ideals of the extreme right.
We refuse to let our public spaces be covered with posters espousing hatred.
We refuse to tolerate even the smallest event associated with movements so fundamentally opposed to supporting fellow humans subjected to injustice and suffering.
Hammerskins and Neo-Nazis — OUT NOW!
Demonstration
Saturday, 8 October
Starts at 15h00 - the 8 Mai Parking lot in Verdun
