After a migrant allegedly raped a French woman so brutally with a broomstick that she was forced into a month-long coma, two dozen right-wing protestors marched outside his home in Cherbourg, France. However, they are now facing criminal prosecution and up to five years in prison for an “unauthorized gathering” and for “promoting self-defense” despite the French government’s glaring inability to protect its own citizens.
The demonstration, which took place on Sept. 9, 2023, in the Provinces district, was on behalf of 29-year-old Mégane, who awoke from her coma but remains between life and death. The French government may have special reason to pursue Argos, the right-wing group that organized the protest, as the group is the direct heir to the French group Génération identitaire, which was banned by the government in 2021. Génération identitaire became a thorn in the government’s side after it ran a series of civil disobedience protests against the state of demographic transformation in France and the government’s failures to control illegal immigration.
The Argos group posted about their action on X, writing:
Argos supports Mégane and her family as she comes out of a coma.
Savagely attacked and raped by Oumar N. last August, Mégane finally came out of the coma today but remains in a fragile state. The Argos activists therefore went to the hospital in Cherbourg where she is being treated in order to show her our support. A donation was also made via a fund set up recently.
In a society where the state and Justice do their job, Mégane would not have had to suffer the barbarity of Oumar. In a society where young people do not have such a wait-and-see attitude, Oumar could not have committed these crimes. Support for Mégane,
People’s Self-Defense for our own!
🔥 Argos soutient Mégane et sa famille lors de sa sortie du coma.
— Argos (@Argos_france) September 7, 2023
Sauvagement agressée et violée par Oumar N. en août dernier, Mégane est enfin sortie du coma aujourd’hui mais reste dans un état fragile.
Les militants Argos se sont donc rendus à l’hôpital de Cherbourg où elle… pic.twitter.com/FNJmZdJS71
A dozen of the activists were arrested after holding up banners that read: “The state doesn’t defend us, get ready,” and placards featuring a photo of the suspected rapist. The youngest arrested from the group is 18 while the oldest is 28. They were taken into police custody and held for 48 hours. All of the activists used their right to remain silent, according to French media outlet Ouest France.
The prosecutor in the case is apparently taking issue with the group’s calls for self-defense, despite the state being increasingly unable to defend its citizens.
“You are appearing for having, through speeches made at an undeclared demonstration, incited willful harm to a person’s integrity by calling for self-defense,” stated Pierre-Yves Marot, the public prosecutor. He stated that five were first arrested by the police and another seven were taken into custody inside a vehicle shortly afterwards.
The suspected rapist, Oumar N., is now in pre-trial detention for sexually assaulting Mégane. The suspect gave her such grievous wounds when he raped her with a broomstick that she nearly died. Emergency workers, including hospital staff, reportedly broke down in tears while treating the woman and some needed psychological counseling.
Her father, Ludovic, has been speaking to the French press and expressing his rage over the brutal rape and the fact that the 18-year-old migrant suspect, Oumar N., had not been in prison despite his long and violent arrest record, including for the incestual rape of his younger sister.
“(The government) not communicating about this attack gives credit to all these sexual predators and other parasites of society who plague the streets. A wake-up call to the government about the fact that we leave this kind of individual, with a heavy criminal past, in complete freedom, would be welcome. ‘Trust in justice,’ we were told… We only want that,” he said.
Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that half of all crimes were committed by migrants in Paris, but data shows that this number may be closer to two-thirds.