Um gegen den Néonazi-Boxclub „Taverne de Thor“ in der Meuse zu protestieren, fanden sich am 7. Februar 2026 rund 500 AntifaschistInnen im Dorf Saulx-lès-Champlon ein. Ein dunkel-bunt gemischtes Bündnis aus Gewerkschaften, Parteien, Kulturschaffenden, Vereinen und Antifagruppen hatte seit Dezember zu einer überregionalen Antifademo aufgerufen.
Am Fuß der Weinberge, im durchaus geschichtsträchtigen und von allen Kriegen gezeichneten Landstrich, südöstlich von Verdun, setzte die Mobilisierung von AntifaschistInnen aus Frankreich, Deutschland und den Beneluxstaaten, von vornherein ein deutliches Zeichen gegen nationalistische und fremdenfeindliche Stimmung, gestern und heute.
In Redebeiträgen ging es demnach um Geschichte, um die „Hammerskins“, Repression gegen Antifas und natürlich die USA. Auch ging es um die Schwierigkeiten und Herausforderungen antifaschistischer Arbeit in Strukturschwachen ländlichen Regionen. Hiergegen werde nach einer „grenzüberschreitenden Strategie“ gesucht, bestärkt Gill aus dem Orgakreis gegenüber RDL. Der „wachsenden politischen Bedrohung in den Parlamenten, auf den Straßen der Städte und auf dem Land, müsse ein kämpferischer Internationalismus“ entgegen gesetzt werden.
GewerkschafterInnen, AnwohnerInnen und linke gewählte VertreterInnen von der EU-Ebene bis zum Landkreis, positionierten sich in Redebeiträgen sehr deutlich gegen die Nazis und deren nun zehnjährigen Niederlassung in den Côtes-de-Meuse.
Mit Parolen und Musik wanderte die Demonstration bei heiter Sonnenschein in Richtung des Nazihangars, der sich auf weiten Teilen der Strecke in Sichtweite befand. Ein dutzend Gendarmerie Fahrzeuge schützten das „Hammerskin“ Clubhouse.
Während die einen die Polizeiketten, ohne für französische Verhältnisse besondere Vorkommnisse zu erzeugen, testeten, begaben sich andere zu Crêpes, Flammkuchen und einem René Binamé Konzert im Ortskern. Zurück ging es am Spätnachmittag mit Antifa-Dub von Digital-Steppaz und ohne Festnahmen zum Ausgangsort zurück. Die medial und behördlich prophezeiten Ausschreitungen blieben aus und es wurden kaum Nazis gesehen. Das „Fermez-la!“-Bündnis bestätigte am Abend einen „trotz Schikanen vonseiten der Behörden erfolgreichen Verlauf“.
Hier ein mehr oder weniger gelungener Mitschnitt des Begrüßungsredebeitrags des Bündnisses Fermez-la in englischer Sprache.
Die schriftliche Fassung des Redebeitrags:
Opening speach, international antifascist demonstration against Hammerskins in France, 26/02/07
Hello and welcome, everyone! Welcome to all of us, anti-fascists from across the Grand Est region and its neighboring countries, who have come to protest against the brown shed, the Tavern of Death, Thor's tavern.
Thank you for coming to demonstrate for the permanent closure of this Nazi hideout and all others, whether in France or abroad!
Together we are here to say: Nazism, never again!
Our collective was born out of the need to give a voice to local residents, who are too often invisible, with the help of trade unions, left-wing parties, and various anti-fascist organizations and collectives in France, Benelux, and Germany.
Demonstrating from Saulx-lès-Champlon to Combres-sous-les-Côtes is not a trivial matter. We are here, three kilometers away, from one of the most important neo-Nazi centers in Central Europe. Who will we tell that we remained silent while the hideous beast was preparing itself before our very eyes?
We want our gathering to be festive, inclusive, and determined!
Our gathering will feature a musical and political program that will showcase a different worldview and help block the path of the radical right and all fascist tendencies!
Neither the people of Combres-sous-les-Côtes, Hannonville, Vigneulles, nor Fresnes have asked for the skinheads to return. The return of skinhead-Nazis worshipping the Third Reich….
The Meuse is a department shaped by the aftermath of many wars, which has seen far too much of the ravages of nationalism, from the sound of boots to the sound of shellfire. This region has said time and time again: Never again! And today we say: never again!
Unfortunately, nowadays, the tendency is all too often to look the other way, to downplay the issue, and to tell ourselves that “these neo-Nazis aren't hurting anyone.” We understand how difficult it can be to show opposition to gangs of skinheads who have settled in your neighborhood. We know that many local residents do not dare to take a public stand, as they fear retaliation.
The Nazis—those Nazis who frequent the Taverne de Thor—have killed, are killing, and will kill again. And they will only stop their hateful practices if we take action and organize to get rid of them - by any means possible. They will continue, unless we mobilize for solidarity and for an anti-fascist future and peace between people. They will stop if the omerta ends in our villages, if we put an end to their mafia-like grip that generates fear on a daily basis. For it is in this atmosphere of terror organized by white supremacist males that a fascist society takes root.
We are here today in solidarity with the residents of the canton. But the Hammerskins' hideout in Combres-sous-les-Côtes has a structural importance that extends far beyond the Meuse and Lorraine regions. Let us remember who these individuals are. They are despicable white supremacist virilists who want to kill people who do not have the same colour of skin, or who are considered invalid or undisciplined.
They operate all over the world. They are part of a delusional white hegemonic society that opposes all social, societal, and cultural progress. For two decades, the Naziskins of Lorraine have managed to open and maintain brown organization centers—first in Toul, now here. They use them to indoctrinate young people and have never been prevented by local or national authorities from carrying out their plans to spread Nazi doctrine. Anti-fascist research in recent years has once again demonstrated the danger of this place. We must fight with all our might against these enemies of freedom, these potential racists, whether in the countryside or in the cities!
How is it possible that a neo-Nazi center could so easily establish itself in the heart of a peaceful county by purchasing a farm shed and thrive there by organizing training and indoctrination centers for young people?
How is it possible that hundreds of Nazis, who display swastikas and T-shirts glorifying Hitler, and who greet each other with Nazi salutes, are still tolerated in our villages 10 years after they settled there?
The answer is simple: the complacency of the responsible authorities.
Judge for yourselves. On June 15, 2024, an MMA tournament was organized at the Combres hangar, with more than 300 Nazis attending with their wives and children. What did the few law enforcement officers sent to the scene that day do? They simply checked people's IDs, with a smile, no less.
They never went inside the hangar to assess the extent of the offences. Despite a petition that gathered 50,000 signatures, despite the unanimous request made by the Meuse Departmental Council to the then Minister of the Interior, Mr. Darmanin, nothing has changed!
Worse still, the prefecture is passing the buck to the Combres town hall, which would be solely responsible for closing down this hangar. That’s how the state cowardly relies on local authorities.
This is not how you stop neo-Nazis ! This is how you allow them to establish themselves and spread fascist ideas!
Down with the Hammerskins! Down with the complacent state! Down with the Taverne de Thor!
We are here today to oppose the establishment of Nazi groups in Lorraine, but our fight does not end there. We are here to promote international solidarity and fight for an anti-fascist future throughout the world!
Thank you to all those who support this moment of struggle. And a big thank you to those who have come from far away. Our demonstration today is meaningful and sadly resonates with current international events. Defending the dignity of every living being, opposing technofascists, populists, and far-right propagandists is no longer an option but a duty. Our gathering here and now must also give us strength for the days and months to come, because history repeats itself and the fight will be intense!
The world is in a bad shape, as you must have noticed. Social breakdown and the spread of repugnant ideas are enabled by the authoritarian neoliberal regimes in place. Already under Berlusconi, Bush, and Sarkozy, the system was the same, but techno-fascist multi-billionaires like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos have enabled the rapid spread of far-right and radical right-wing ideals. These new feudal lords go hand in hand with supremacists and form the economic and ideological fabric of today's imperialists, from Moscow to Washington. Trump's victory in the USA is a warning sign for all countries that consider themselves democratic. Neoliberalism is triumphing in its fourth decade, and it is doing so in an increasingly aggressive, imperial, and belligerent manner.
In the US, the fascist terror wrought by ICE is returning to the streets, but the American people are rising up against this lawless militia, and that is where everything could change. Europe is not immune to institutional violence. FRONTEX, the European border police, also kills, and no one seems to care. At the national level, of course, the police continue to kill with total impunity. Fascism is therefore making a comeback, or rather, it is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world. It never really disappeared, as imperialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalism never ceased to exist. But it has never been so uninhibited and visible.
The price to pay for fighting fascism may be high, but it is necessary for the future of our children. Today, anti-fascist comrades are being prosecuted in the US, Greece, Russia, Chile, France and many other countrys. The capitalist state has always used its resources to prosecute activists who oppose far-right ideals. But in recent years, we have seen a surge in the number of prosecutions and legal proceedings against radical left-wing groups and associations.
For example, following clashes at the Nazi commemorative march of the siege of Budapest in 2023, nearly 20 arrest warrants were issued by Hungary against Albanian, German, Italian, and Syrian nationals. A manhunt was launched. Two people had to seek refuge in France because their most fundamental human rights would have been violated in Budapest or even Berlin. Anti-fascist activists are being prosecuted and imprisoned all over the world.
These attacks target a significant number of organizations that fight daily against the hateful, revisionist, antisemitic rhetoric of neo-Nazis and against the possibility of them establishing themselves in our territories. We must therefore join forces across the world and aim for a clear goal: anti-fascist cultural hegemony! This will be anti-racist, ecological, feminist, anti-militarist, disability-friendly and radical!
A few days ago, we learned that Maja, a German citizen and transgender anti-fascist activist who remains imprisoned in Hungary, has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Let's take advantage of this moment of unity to shout our solidarity and continue the fight to highlight this unjust sentence! SOLIDARITY WITH MAJA!!!
We still have a long way to go to reach our goal, but here today, on this short journey that will bring us closer to the vile beast, we are beginning to resist. We say no to the return of a deadly ideology. It is to proclaim loud and clear “never again” that we are here today, that we say, “shut up!”, “close this damn tavern of Thor”! We are setting off for Combres-sous-les Côtes. We urge you to join your comrades for a festive, combative, and energetic demonstration. We will meet in about an hour at the center of the village of Combres-sous-les-Côtes to eat, discuss, and celebrate anti-fascism without borders!
Be vigilant and take care of each other! Have a good demonstration against the Hammerskins and their Hangar! Good protest against the Hammerskins and their Hangar! And above all... SHUT IT DOWN!