Gap. City centre. Night of the 1st to the 2nd of June 2021. Individuals break down a door at the back of a theatre converted into a vaccination centre. The door is easily broken open and they find themselves in a long corridor, which leads from the left to other rooms. A door on the right is not locked, it opens on a large room, where presumably vaccinations take place. Hastily, piles are made with the furniture that is present. Bottles of alcoholic gel are added to the petrol. A flick of the lighter, the whole thing catches fire, and the silhouettes disappear into the night. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes, enough to destroy a good part of the building.
It was a rather symbolic act, since another centre opened the same day, and according to what we know from the press, the attack of the same kind in Nyons [Haut de France] a few weeks earlier only caused a slight delay in the opening, which was quickly resolved. This shows the need to look for the heart of the monster rather than attacking all its tentacles, but let’s move on.
Having in mind that this act would be above all symbolic, we also wanted it to provoke debate. We are therefore surprised by the silence of anarchist blogs and magazines on the subject of this night and the previous one (as well as the most recent ones, since the government’s announcement on the extension of the health pass, the acts of destruction of vaccination centres are multiplying, and they are not all accompanied by signs suggesting that they emanate from reactionary or far-right circles).
Is it inconceivable that anarchists could have attacked anti-covid vaccination centres? Could it be that they did not want to risk being lumped in with the not always very nice, or even frankly problematic, critics who have gained in strength with the arrival of the pandemic? Could it be that no one was aware of these attacks, or that the target seemed inappropriate? However, at the time of the sanitary pass, and at the moment when the initially recalcitrant part of the population ends up changing its mind (to present it to the nurse…), in front of the pressure of the government and because it will be impossible to maintain a “normal” life without it, attacking the good progress of the vaccination campaign seems most relevant for those who refuse to accept the forward march of the world. It is a pity that these acts did not get the echo they deserve. So here is a text that hopes to make up for this silence, clarify a few points, and make room for debate. Continue reading “Gap [Hautes Alpes], France: About an attack on a vaccination centre”