France bans the ‘Gray Wolves’ Turkish right-wing party for inciting’ bigotry and hate’
The French Minister of the Interior declared the dissolution of the Turkish nationalist party ‘Grey Wolves’ and added that the movement was responsible for violent acts, inciting bigotry and hate.
The Council of Ministers accepted on Wednesday the dissolution in France of the Turkish nationalist party Grey Wolves.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced the results of the conference. He posted on Twitter a photo of the decree, adding that the party “was disbanded … in compliance with the President ‘s instructions.”
On Monday, Darmanin declared that he was attempting to ban an organization linked to the Party of the Turkish Nationalist Movement (MHP).
The MHP strongly denounced the initiative and took to Twitter to post a photo of the French government “embracing the Elysee Palace PKK terrorists,” claiming that “Europe’s ambivalent mindset” was revealed by the apparent hypocrisy.
Last week, members of the Grey Wolves were seen among a Turkish mob storming the streets of Lyon, “searching for” Armenians.
The group’s name and pro-Turkish slogans were also inscribed on the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the region. This has occurred as Turkey supports Azerbaijan in its conflict over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia.
The Grey Wolves ban comes as tensions between Paris and Ankara are running high. After the decapitation of a school teacher, Samuel Paty, and recently angered Muslims around the world after his support of the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo’s Prophet Mohammed, President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a widely criticized campaign against radical Islam.
President Erdogan replied by contrasting Macron’s response to the pre-World War II treatment of Jews and challenging the mental health of the French president.
The country’s security forces have further cracked down on groups accused of spreading radical Islam after the deadly assault on a church in the city of Nice.
