2023-11-03 14:17:56
Blue, white and red flags, Nazi salutes, “monkey cries” and display of French identity papers. During the (non) meeting between OM and OL, some of the Lyon supporters (once once more) stood out for their racist and anti-Semitic provocations. Identified as “Mezza Lyon”, this group of hooligans is not its “first time”. For 20 MinutesSébastien Louis, doctor in contemporary history, specialist in radical supporterism in Europe and author of the book Ultras the other protagonists of footballreturned to the history of its members, the link between Lyon and the extreme right, in order to analyze the events of last Sunday evening.
Sébastien Louis, doctor in contemporary history, specialist in radical supporterism in Europe – © giovanni ambrosio
What can you say regarding the provocations from certain Lyon supporters?
They are not surprising. They are, unfortunately, part of the deleterious atmosphere around the meetings between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais, because the radical supporters of the two camps have strongly divergent political opinions. For many years, supporters of Lyon have challenged the French citizenship of those of Marseille, by taking out French flags, their identity cards and making fascist salutes.
Who are these Lyon supporters?
They are part of the not really structured group of Mezza Lyon, active since 2006. It brings together a few dozen individuals, who are not present at all the matches but who are there for the most important ones, when there are “at risk” supporters or “political enemies”. There are also bridges between certain ultras and the Mezza, which makes their number more significant.
These individuals are rather young, without distinctive signs. It is therefore difficult to recognize them. However, we know the Totenkopf [tête de mort, symbole de la 3e division des SS] as a symbol, and the Serbian flag, a country considered by nationalists as an example of struggle to defend their identity and their nation.
However, we should not only think that the Mezza is the only problem in Lyon. Because many Lyon supporters were negatively noticed on Sunday. There is an ecosystem in the corners of Lyon that is favorable to this type of behavior. Administrative dissolution will not solve the problem.
This is real in-depth work which must be carried out by OL and which cannot be resolved by a simple press release or a formal meeting. La Mezza is the tree that hides the forest and the “perfect” culprit, while the recurrence of these acts in the Lyon stands for more than thirty-five years should give pause. This group is ultimately just a band of independents within a radical Lyon supporter scene which includes many hooligans.
How did these nationalist hooligans find their place in Lyon?
Lyon is no coincidence, because it is the capital of the political extreme right. You should know that the issue of hooliganism has been present there for a very long time. Problems of violence are recurrent, as in other French stadiums, but they appeared quite early in this city, notably with the birth of Bad Gones, in 1987, which included among its members very radical individuals, most of whom were then boneheads (neo-Nazi skinheads). From the beginning, people held up banners with symbols like the “S” in “Gones” replaced by that of the SS, Celtic crosses, national Gones fanzines with neo-Nazi propaganda. Then, at the end of the 1990s, the group underwent a transformation and calmed down. The Bad Gones were recognized as legitimate contacts by the club and the most extremist individuals decided to move towards the south turn. This is where we find the hooligans from Mezza Lyon.
What is happening with the supporters is therefore not a reflection of our society but is something much more locally anchored. There are then territories “to hold”. Old Lyon and the stadium are part of it.
What is the link between the far right and football supporters?
Almost all hooligans in France are close to the extreme right, with whom they have a common vision of society: the defense of a territory and violence, a legitimate instrument according to them. There are a lot of bridges between the two. More and more today, far-right identity movements are inspired by hooliganism. And hooligans allow these political groups to express their violence in a “legitimized” framework.
Then, hooliganism, which was more English-style, transformed into specialist hooliganism, Russian-style, that is to say, combat sports with training, without the consumption of alcohol. , in a desire to be prepared to do as much harm as possible. The goal of these individuals is to provoke, to be seen and to get people talking regarding them – as the media have been doing since Sunday.
Can we imagine no longer seeing this kind of behavior in stadiums?
A perfect stadium is not possible. In France, we have few extremist symbols compared to other countries, but we have small groups active on the sidelines of matches, who use the stadium as a place where they will be seen and where they can recruit, it is a real media platform for them. And even if these hooligans are banned from stadiums, they remain very active outside. The answer is then judicial. But this requires real commitment, particularly on the part of the prefecture.
And then, we want a politically correct stadium on the one hand but on the other, the far right is well established and can express itself in the rest of society. The question is therefore complex in a context where the extreme right is at the gates of power and where the current majority can sometimes align itself with certain themes for purely electoral reasons.
1699025498
#Mezza #Lyon #group #responsible #racist #provocations #Vélodrome
