Rabat – A Paris court decided on Sunday to delay the trial of seven young men affiliated with the far-right, under suspicions that they had planned to attack Moroccan fans following the semi-final game between Morocco and France at the World Cup.
News outlet France24 reported that the defendants in question were arrested alongside tens of others in the 17th arrondissement of Paris following the game.
The other suspects were released, but the remaining seven in question will have to stand before the court on January 13, the same source added.
One of the men who will stand trial, 24 year-old Marc de Cacqueray-Valmenier, has long been suspected of being the leader of far-right group Zouaves Paris.
Prosecutors accused Cacqueray-Valmenier of organizing a movement to meet in a Parisian bar to “defend the flag against Moroccans.”
Following the game between Morocco and France, far-right groups in the European country used violence against Moroccan fans.
A 14 year-old boy believed to be of Moroccan descent was killed on Wednesday after being hit by a car brandishing a French flag, converging reports said.
At Montpellier, local activists also reported clashes between police forces and far-right groups.
The incidents sit in stark contrast to narratives perpetuated by right-wing French politicians who used relatively rare instances of violence among Moroccan fans to push racist and anti-immigrant rhetorics.
France defeated Morocco 2-0 on Wednesday in the World Cup semi-finals, progressing to the tournament’s final match and knocking the Atlas Lions out after a historic run.
At the time of this writing, France’s team is facing Argentina at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium in the World Cup final, in a bid to win their second consecutive title.
