What is the nature of the incidents that punctuated the celebrations of the victory of the Moroccan national team last Saturday in Bastia? Difficult to establish precisely, but concordant testimonies evoke beatings and insults. On the left, part of the political class condemns. Authorities say they were not informed.
Supporters of the Moroccan team insulted, their vehicle damaged, and blows exchanged: according to several testimonies that France 3 Corse ViaStella was able to gather, these incidents occurred on the sidelines of the meeting between Morocco and Portugal, as part of of the football world cup, saturday 10 december.
The facts would have taken place shortly after the final whistle, and the qualification of Morocco in the semi-finals. A dozen cars then parade along Boulevard Paoli, with supporters of the Moroccan team driving and sitting on the passenger seats, who honk their horns and shout their joy, flags in hand or at the windows of their car.
It is around 6:30 p.m. when the scenes of jubilation would have started to be marred by incidents. “A group of about ten people started shouting insults at Moroccan fans“, indicates a woman who says she witnessed the scene from her car.
These people, a priori quite young and with camouflaged faces, assure several witnesses of the scene, would then have attacked directly the cars of the supporters, banging their fists on the bodywork.
“It pissed off one of the drivers who told them to leave, enough was enough. details a man who was, he assures, a few meters from the facts. And they didn’t like it“The group then violently attacked the driver of the vehicle, kicking him.”He had the window open and responded to the knocks, details the witness driver. An iron bar was unsheathed, and the car’s rear view mirror was ripped off, severed, and rolled on the ground.”
In all, it lasted maybe five, ten minutes. Maybe even less.
The episode, summed up by a young woman who was shopping in an adjoining shop, will have been particularly marked by violence and by her speed: “in all, it lasted maybe five, ten minutes. Maybe even less.”
Verbal or even physical attacks which have so far not given rise to the filing of a complaint, nor, a priori, to an intervention by the emergency services: contacted, the public prosecutor of Bastia, Arnaud Viornery, thus indicates that no direct feedback on these facts has not reached him at this time.
The same goes for the departmental directorate of public security, which specifies that it did not intervene for such an event this Saturday evening in Bastia, just like the firefighters of Haute-Corse, who explain that they were not contacted.
The fact remains that on social networks, the case has found a certain echo: since yesterday, Sunday, December 11, more and more messages condemning this attack have been published.
Press releases from some political parties, Ghjuventù di Manca in the first place, which denounces “racist violence“and a population”of North African origin, invisible and marginalized on a daily basis, to the point that the simple fact of expressing their joy in the public space is denied to them“.
The Corsican section of the Communist Party also issued a brief message reproaching the action of “some fanatics seized by racist impulses“, and acts “intolerant and fascistic, contrary to the spirit of sport”.
Remarks that are tempered today by the Consul General of Morocco in Corsica, Najoua El Berrak. For the latter, this is a “instrumentalization“policy of events. It thus indicates that, from the publication of the first press releases, it has cross-checked the information described there with the community of island Moroccan origin.
“My impression is that this release [de Ghjuventù di Manca] is excessive. What happened is a non-event. According to my information, there were three cars, and it would be young people, 14/15 years old, who told the supporters, “it’s ok, you celebrated, now go home.” Fans ignored them, and maybe they didn’t appreciate it and started banging the hoods of cars with their palms.“
What happened is a non-event.
Najoua El Berrak, Consul General of Morocco in Corsica
For the latter, the games would have remained largely verbal. “It is possible that it resulted from a few shots, but this is not the information that came to me. We speak in the press release of several iron bars, racist attacks… I find that all of this is very strong and that this press release affects everyone. It is useless to heat the spirits in this way.“
The consul also calls for “put things in context” : “It was above all a beautiful evening, where many Moroccans watched the match in the company of Corsican friends, families who watched together in a good spirit, and that is fabulous, and we don’t talk about it enough.”
It should be noted that these incidents, real or not in their magnitude, appear in Corsica as isolated. In Bastia, in other districts, or in other municipalities of Corsica, the celebrations of the supporters of the Moroccan team were also held on Saturday evening, as in Ghisonaccia. A party that would have lasted long minutes without any incident being to be deplored.
Morocco’s next match will be on Wednesday against France. A match that will be very popular on the island. An evening which, we hope, will take place in calm and respect for all.
