An Armed Vendetta Against Antifascist Activists: The Stakes of the Trial of Twelve Far

Twelve defendants aged 19 to 29 are set to be judged on April 16 by the criminal court of Albi. Among them are members of the far-right group Patria Albiges. They are accused of being involved in a “vendetta” targeting an antifascist activist just a year ago, on the terrace of a bar in the Episcopal city.

Following a delay ordered by the court last December, the twelve defendants of the attack at the bar Le Cosy are scheduled to appear before the Albi criminal court on April 16. Aged 19 to 29, they face charges of aggravated violence and/or participation in a group aiming to prepare violence or damage.

Among them are members of the local far-right group Patria Albiges, under threat of dissolution by the Ministry of the Interior. Some notable figures include their spokesperson Lorenzo Bodino, previously sentenced to eight months of suspended imprisonment for assaulting two antifascist activists in 2023. Sebastien Ughetto, a young Carmausin, recently received a definitive conviction for inciting hatred after an “anti-migrant” action carried out by Patria Albiges in two municipal parks in Albi in 2023. Thomas Rouquette, a former colleague of the opposition elected representative Frédéric Cabrolier of the National Rally in the 2020 municipal elections in Albi, will also be among the defendants.

On their side, some defendants residing in Haute-Garonne, including some alleged members of the Toulouse group Furie Française, who frequently participate in events or activities with Patria Albiges militants.

Most defendants are represented by two lawyers experienced in high-profile trials involving the far-right. Me Pierre Vincent Lambert from the Dax Bar Association has previously assisted Albigesian identitarians in a case involving anti-migrant actions. Me Mathieu Sassi from the Paris Bar Association is also making a name for himself in nationalist circles, having defended identitarian militants accused of racist insults against the singer Aya Nakamura.

Batons and tear gas

The incidents involving the twelve defendants date back to April 25, 2025, late in the evening, on the terrace of the Cosy, a bar in downtown Albi. Around twenty masked individuals armed with batons and tear gas had stormed in, looking for a well-known antifascist activist in the Episcopal city. The activist had sought refuge in the establishment.

The individuals then targeted the bar’s terrace customers and the owner. A woman intervening in the altercation was punched in the face while trying to remove the mask of one of the aggressors, leading to a violent escalation with numerous exchanges of blows. The masked individuals threw chairs and “gassed” customers before fleeing, with five victims identified.

If the defendants remained reticent during questioning, invoking their right to remain silent, this attack seems to be a “vendetta”: a few hours earlier, one of the leaders of Patria Albiges, 27-year-old Clément Cabrolier, son of RN opposition elected representative Frédéric Cabrolier, was assaulted in front of another bar in Albi by antifascist militants. Three men were tried for these acts last October and were acquitted, although the Albi public prosecutor has appealed.