The violence on Monday was believed to be a local reaction to three days of violence by Chechen gangs in Dijon. On Friday a large group of Chechens began clashing with the North African community looking to settle scores after the beating of a teenage Chechen boy. Some media reports suggest members of the Chechen community travelled across France, Belgium and Germany to reach Dijon.
In one incident, a team of journalists from public broadcaster France 3 was attacked by men who stoned their vehicle. It goes beyond a news story and should be seen as a warning to our nation," Le Pen said. One of the men who took part in the violence confirmed to a local newspaper that an attack on a community centre on Friday was a revenge attack after a local drug dealer assaulted a year-old Chechen youth.
On Sunday, as many as men took to the streets in the district. Bernard Schmeltz, the region's prefect, said that the disturbances on Monday night were believed to be revenge attacks for the violence of the previous three evenings. Schmeltz and the local authorities have come under fire for a lack of intervention into the violence over the weekend, but he said that "supervising and surrounding" the gangs was "the only practicable strategy.
Eric Mathais, Dijon's prosecutor, said that at least six people had been wounded over the past three days, and that an investigation had been opened into the violence.
By Euronews with AFP. Share this article Comments. Share this article. You might also like France to 'reexamine' migration pact with Algeria amid diplomatic tensions. French researchers sentenced for throwing explosives at Russian consulate in Marseille. Former surgeon stands trial: What is the story behind France's largest child sexual abuse case?
