Far-Left Anarchists Suspected of Defacing Memorial to French WWII Resistance

Police in the commune of Espenel believe far-left anarchists are behind a wave of recent vandalisation in the area, including the defacement of a memorial to French World War II resistance fighters.

The words “deadly control, fertile resistance” were spray-painted onto the side of the memorial which lists the names of resistance fighters and victims of the massacres that occurred in 1944 and saw the deaths of 600 resistance fighters and 200 civilians at the hands of German occupying forces.

Over the past 15 days, police in the area say they have seen various slogans spray-painted, all of which they believe have been committed by left-wing extremists, France Bleu reports.

Along with the graffiti, the police reported that since April there had been other acts of vandalism including an attack on the CCTV cameras at the micro-hydroelectric power station in Luc-en-Diois.

Another incident took place earlier this week when a mobile phone relay antenna was destroyed in a fire in Oriol-en-Royans. The sabotage is believed to have been deliberate and French intelligence has noted a surge of similar attacks, likely from the far-left, across France in recent weeks.

Investigators have so far made no arrests in any of the cases and have been largely unable to identify specific suspects, but say they are looking into closely monitoring members of the far-left extremist scene in the area.

The incident in Espenel would not be the first time far-left Antifa militants have defaced a war memorial. In 2018, far-left activists were believed to be behind the vandalisation of a monument in Saint-Jean-du-Gard spray-painting, “anti-France” and “No Nation No Border”.

Far-left extremism has continued to be a major issue in France despite the Wuhan coronavirus and the strict lockdown imposed by President Emmanuel Macron.

Just last week, authorities arrested two leftist extremists after they had acquired firearms with which it is alleged they were planning to kill police officers.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com