The French navy is investigating claims that masked, off-duty marines tackled rioters in the western city of Lorient, home to a major military base, during national unrest last week.
Local newspaper Le Telegramme published pictures of groups of so-called “anti-rioters” who wore hoods and masks as they apprehended and beat up suspected troublemakers in the city on Friday night.
The Ouest France newspaper also published an interview with a 25-year-old man who said he was a member of the armed forces and intervened to support the police along with about 30 colleagues so as to “not leave the country to burn”.
The Forfusco navy unit based in Lorient has “opened an inquiry which is under way. Until the results are known, there will be no further comment,” the defence ministry said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Lorient mayor, Fabrice Loher, told AFP he was unable to confirm what had happened, but said he had “seen people in masks. We thought they were rioters.”
“What is important to me is what the Forfusco says,” the mayor said, adding that he was worried about the impact of the incident on his town’s reputation.
Lorient prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger said on Wednesday that no investigation was under way in the absence of any legal complaint or “concrete or objective element” to justify it.
An unnamed police officer quoted by Le Telegramme at the weekend said officers initially let the “anti-rioters” intervene “because it was helping us” before they realised “they were going at it a bit too strongly”.
The paper quoted a witness saying the men described themselves as “patriots”.
Forfusco is composed of marine riflemen and special forces commandos, according to the defence ministry website.
More than 3,500 people have been arrested in France over the last week, in what was the country’s worst urban violence since 2005. It was sparked by the fatal shooting of a teenager of north African origin by police during a traffic stop in western Paris.
The unrest spread to dozens of other localities and have led to a bitter debate about racism in the security forces and inequality in society. .
English (US)