Mother of slain teen Louis demands 30-year sentences at Narbonne white march, as far-right figures join
Amandine Chaudier, mother of 17-year-old Louis beaten to death in Narbonne, called for 30-year prison terms without parole for the five suspects, as thousands marched on July 5 and far-right politicians attended.
The march
Thousands of people, with estimates ranging from several hundred to 4,500 according to France 24, walked through Narbonne on Sunday in a white march for Louis, a 17-year-old beaten to death in late June. The procession, organised by his mother and aunt, wound its way to the construction site where he was attacked. Some 400 identitarian activists were among the crowd, more than at a previous gathering a week earlier, and French flags dotted the route.
Mother's plea
Addressing the crowd, Amandine Chaudier rejected the legal principle of reduced sentences for minors.
She vowed to fight for 30-year firm, incompressible sentences for all five suspects and to "restore the full meaning of the word life imprisonment". In a letter read aloud, she said,I no longer want to hear about the excuse of minority. It is not acceptable that your killers serve only eight, ten years or twenty for the older ones, not to mention remission for good behaviour.
Before you left, I promised you that your name would cross all of France, that your story will bring about the change we owe you.
Political presence
Far-right figures Eric Zemmour and Marion Maréchal-Le Pen attended the march, after announcing their intention on social media. Marine Le Pen had earlier condemned a "daily barbarity" and Jordan Bardella spoke of "savagery", though neither was present. The crowd chanted "Death penalty! Death penalty!" at points, and the prosecutor in Narbonne had previously issued a statement stressing the crime had no racial motive.
The crime and suspects
Louis was ambushed on a Narbonne construction site on the evening of 19 June, beaten and filmed by his attackers. Left unconscious, he was found by a worker the next day and hospitalised, but died of his injuries on 23 June. Five young people, three of them minors aged 16 to 19, were quickly arrested and placed under investigation for attempted assassination and held in provisional detention.
A divided family response
The day before, Louis's father Nicolas Hervé led a separate white march in Carcassonne with about 500 participants, deliberately avoiding political overtones. The mother's event, by contrast, was open to politicians and drew a more charged atmosphere. A week earlier, a first Narbonne march had gathered around 1,000 people, including 300 identitarians, with slogans like "Scum everywhere, justice nowhere" and "Frenchman wake up, you are at home here".
- Louis, 17, is ambushed and beaten on a Narbonne construction site; attackers film the assault.
- Louis dies in hospital from his injuries.
- First white march in Narbonne draws about 1,000 people, including 300 identitarians; family does not participate.
- Father Nicolas Hervé leads a white march in Carcassonne with 500 attendees, avoiding political overtones.
- Mother Amandine Chaudier's white march in Narbonne draws thousands; she demands 30-year sentences and far-right figures attend.
