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According to AFP, the riots started when a teenager from the local Chechen community was attacked by local drug traffickers. The Chechens themselves never hide that they are very vindictive, so there was no need to wait long for retaliation.
What happened?
The 16-year-old Chechen was allegedly attacked on June 10 and local drug traffickers were involved.
Social media speculates that the attackers belonged to the Algerian drug mafia. Members of the Chechen diaspora simply called them “Maghreb merchants”.
The local press also reports tensions between the Chechen and North African communities. The Maghreb is a large region in North Africa that includes, among other countries, Algeria and Morocco.
Vladislav Davidzon, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian magazine The Odessa Review, which has ties to the Chechen diaspora in France, writes that tensions between Chechens and other ethnic groups have long been felt.
The Chechens are now being fought by “immigrants from Algeria and French citizens of Arab descent who were born here.” The local prefect also stated that the relationship was being interpreted by “members of the Chechen community and local people”.
Whats Next?
The Chechens prepared the response for Friday when they carried out criminal raids: Even three nights in a row walking around the city and gang members of Arab descent were caught by people with baseball bats.
In one incident, for example, about 50 Chechens broke into the troubled Gresil district, home to many people of North African descent, and started shooting. The owner of a pizzeria was seriously injured.
Even more people, around 200, entered Gresil the next day, Sunday night, and the next morning, a crowd of about 150 Chechens in Dijon started burning trash cans. The car also caught fire, some people shot into the air.
Investigators working in Dijon say at least six people were injured in all of these incidents, but no one was arrested.
AFP / Scanpix Photo / Unrest in Dijon, France
How did the Chechen Diaspora arise in France?
The first wave of Chechen emigration to Western Europe, and therefore to France, was caused by two Chechen wars, when Russian forces ruthlessly bombarded the cities of this republic.
Another wave has been seen in recent years as people flee Chechnya in a state of displeasure towards Ramzan Kadyrov, the country’s leader. In 2018, about 15 thousand people lived in France. refugees from Russia, including Chechnya.
Reuters / Scanpix photo / Ramzan Kadyrov
Why react to violence?
Ethnic Chechens often suffer from the image of “brave fighters” imposed on them by researchers, but they themselves have stereotypes that people in North Africa or the Middle East are “terrorists.” This attitude is also shaped by Russian state television.
“Such stereotypes in the French context contribute to the struggle of both diasporas. Furthermore, the Chechen diaspora has a strong sense of collective responsibility,” writes Yelena Mac-Glandieres, a researcher at the French Institute for Geopolitics.
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