The Swiss city of Lausanne was rocked this week by race youth riots after a migrant from Gambia died while fleeing from police on a motorbike.
Starting on Sunday and lasting into the early hours of Tuesday morning, the fourth-largest city in Switzerland saw youths rampage and riot, setting fires, throwing molotov cocktails, vandalising buses, building garbage barricades on the streets, while attacking police officers with stones and fireworks, according to Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
On Monday, police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to combat the hundreds of youth rioters. Police were also forced to protect firefighters as they attempted to stamp out fires set by the mob in the French-speaking city.
Reports have indicated that many of those involved in the unrest were not even from the area, but had come from nearby Geneva to Lausanne, which is already one of the most multicultural in the country, with over 40 per cent of the population being foreign-born.
The riots were sparked after “Marvin M.”, a 17-year-old migrant from the African nation of Gambia who later gained Swiss citizenship, lost his life in the early hours of Sunday morning while fleeing police on a reportedly stolen scooter, which he lost control of and crashed into a garage door.
While the police were blamed by the crowds for his death, the patrol pursuit is claimed to have trailed behind the motorbike by over a hundred meters. Nevertheless, around 200 people took to the streets to riot over the supposed involvement of police in Marvin’s death.
Included among those who were attacked by the rioters was Swiss People’s Party councillor Thibault Schaller, who is also employed as a security worker.
Speaking to the Swiss newspaper Watson, the right-wing populist politician said: “When I got there, there were 50 to 100 rioters, maybe more. A few meters next to me there was also a group of about five whites. I knew right away: These are Antifa people, and they recognized me. They consulted and looked over at me. After a few seconds, three of them came up to me.
“One of them asked my name, called me a Nazi and told me to disappear… Then I saw a group of maybe 15 people rushing at me. I ran away. I got punched. I fell because someone was clinging to me to bring me to the ground. Then I got kicked and punched. I tried to protect myself.”
Fortunately for Schaller, the brawl was broken up by police and he was able to escape without any major injuries.
The riots in Lausanne are reminiscent of those which broke out in France in 2023 following the death of a 17-year-old Algerian-heritage teenager who fled from the police. Thousands of cars and buildings were damaged during the week of rioting, resulting in hundreds of millions in damages. The riots even poured over the Swiss border from France into Lausanne, with over a hundred youths attacking police and vandalising businesses at the time.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here