French Government Moves To Ban Group Linked To Murder Of Clement Meric

On Saturday French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault ordered the dissolution of the Revolutionary National Front (JNR in French). Several members of the group, which marched in the most recent Manif Pour Tous protest against gay marriage, are alleged to have murdered 18 year-old pro-gay activist Clement Meric.

The JNR is the militant wing of a far-right group called the Third Way. Its leader Serge Ayoub, who has been questioned by police but is not a suspect, on Saturday again denied the group had anything to do with the death of 18-year-old Clement Meric. Meric, a student at the prestigious Sciences-Po university, died after a clash in a busy Paris shopping area on Wednesday between skinheads and left-wing activists. Five people detained over the death went before a judge on Saturday and Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the main suspect, named Esteban, was being investigated on suspicion of murder. The five suspects are aged between 19 and 32 and include one woman. Interior Minister Manuel Valls on Friday vowed to crack down on far-right groups

Al-Jazeera Reports On Clement Meric

FRANCE: Vigils And Rallies Held For Murdered Pro-Gay Activist Clement Meric

Memorial vigils and rallies were held across France last night for murdered 19 year-old pro-gay activist Clement Vigil, who died yesterday after being attacked by neo-Nazis outside a Paris clothing shop. Many have blamed France's anti-gay marriage movement for spurring the attack, an allegation hotly denied by former Manif Pour Tous leader Fridige Barjot, who has vowed to sue a prominent marriage activist for making that claim.

Multiple arrests have been made in the killing.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced earlier on Thursday that seven arrests had been made, including that of the individual suspected of delivering the final blow to Méric. French President François Hollande, speaking on an official visit to Japan, said he "condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms." "I have given the most rigorous possible instructions so that the authors of the odious act can be arrested at the earliest possible juncture," he said in a statement.

The Parti de Gauche (Left Party) reflected the mood of many, especially on the Left, in France. "The horror of fascism has just killed right in the middle of Paris,” they said in a statement. “Violently beaten to the ground by a group of activists from the extreme right, manifestly from the group JNR (Jeune Nationaliste Revolutionnaire)," the statement added. For his part, the leader of JNR, Serge Ayoub, also known as 'Batskin', has denied his group's involvement in the attack. "That's absolutely false," he said.

Among the groups memorializing Meric last night was the anti-fascist organization to which he had belonged.

Frigide Barjot: Clement Meric Would Be Alive If France Hadn't Legalized Marriage

"This extreme fight is the result of a power that for nine months has refused to listen to the French people.  The President has caused extremism to grow by passing a law that the French didn’t want, and in a manner that was authoritarian and undemocratic.  When we refuse to act like a democracy, extremism grows. In a way, you could say that there was a death because of this denial of democracy.

"The President and Pierre Bergé, who financed Mr. Holland and is also a leader and a great financier of the LGBT community, are inciting violence against people protesting legitimately, not against homosexuals, but against the anthropological change of society. I condemn the violence and I condemn the remarks of Mr. Bergé.  I did not participate in the last [Manif Pour Tous] event, because I feared that the right-wing factions that have threatened me would be there and disrupt peaceful protesters." - Former Manif Pour Tous leader Frigide Barjot, actually blaming the murder of 18 year-old activist Clement Meric on the legalization of gay marriage.  (Via AmericanBlog)

NOTE: Clement Meric died today after being beaten into brain-death yesterday by anti-gay neo-Nazis who allegedly belong to the group that marched with Manif Pour Tous on May 26th.  Earlier today Barjot threatened to sue gay marriage activist Pierre Bergé for implicating her group in Meric's murder. Manif Pour Tous has been repeatedly praised by NOM president Brian Brown, who appeared at one of their anti-gay events earlier this year.  NOM remains silent on the murder of Clement Meric.

NOTE II: Barjot's quote above comes via Google Translate. French speakers are invited to visit the original source and provide corrections.