France bans Turkish ultra-nationalists: Who are the ‘Grey Wolves’?

A French army soldier stands guard as a police officer walks by a wall where graffiti was painted overnight in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon. (AFP)
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Updated 04 November 2020
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France bans Turkish ultra-nationalists: Who are the ‘Grey Wolves’?

  • Group active in European countries with significant Turkish population, such as Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and France

ANKARA: In a move that is likely to increase tension between Ankara and Paris, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Monday that France will ban the Turkish ultra-nationalist group the Grey Wolves. 
The group is linked to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a political ally of the ruling government in Turkey.

During the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, where France and Turkey backed opposing sides, the group became notorious for organizing “Hunt for Armenians” marches in France and for vandalizing the Armenian Genocide memorial outside Lyon with their own slogans and references to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During the march, the group members threatened Armenians with slogans such as “We are going to kill them.” Four people were injured in Lyon last Wednesday during clashes between Turkish nationalists and Armenians who were protesting against Azerbaijan’s military moves.

The banning of the group, which was urged by the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Coordination Council of Armenian Organisations in France, will be discussed by the French cabinet on Wednesday.

The Grey Wolves was established in the 1960s in Turkey by MHP as a militant wing and was responsible for triggering chaos in the streets in 1970s and 1980s when its members fought leftists and were responsible for many assassinations.

Their salute symbol, with the thumb touching the tips of the middle two fingers and the index and little fingers raised, is seen by many as neo-fascist and was banned in Austria last year. A ban has also been considered in Germany.

This year in August, Russian International Affairs Council, a pro-Kremlin think tank, also labeled the group as an “extremist” organization.

The Grey Wolves have active branches in European countries with a significant Turkish population, such as Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and France.

Samim Akgonul, a political scientist at Strasbourg University in France, said the Grey Wolves are not the most visible Turkish organization in France but they have been active from time to time, especially during crises related to the Armenian issue, such as the French memorial laws recognizing the Armenian genocide.

“Historically the supporters of the Turkish far right MHP party are organized autonomously in Europe, separate from Turkey’s official bodies such as the Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), the European division of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs,” he told Arab News.

He said that since the coalition between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the MHP in Turkey in 2013, the mobilization of the Grey Wolves in favor of the Turkish state and the president had become much more frequent, especially in Lyon and Paris. 

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish ultra-nationalist who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was also linked to the group.

According to Akgonul, the main reason for their ban in France is their recent activity against French-Armenians amid an atmosphere of general violence.

He said they were also a collateral victim of the Islamist terror in France and the response of President Erdogan to those acts of terror.

Neither the Turkish government nor its nationalistic partner have reacted yet to the statement of French minister Darmanin about disbanding the group.

Turkey expert Matthew Goldman, from the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, noted that the Grey Wolves are not an officially organized group in France, and so Darmanin’s announcement that they will be “dissolved” leaves many questions unanswered until the ministers discuss the issue on Wednesday.

“The far-right politician Marine Le Pen accused Darmanin of merely using empty words, tweeting that it is meaningless to claim to disband a group that is not actually organized. Instead, she called for shutting down the AKP-connected Milli Gorus Islamic Confederation, which is an official organization with 70 mosques in France,” he told Arab News.

As French President Emmanuel Macron wants to compete with Le Pen to show that he is tough on both Turkey and Islamism, Goldman wondered whether he would turn to Milli Gorus next.

German police recently stormed a Milli Gorus mosque in Berlin as part of an investigation about suspected fraud over a COVID-19 subsidy program, prompting a very sharp reaction from Erdogan.

Goldman said that if French authorities take on Milli Gorus too, it was likely to spark a strong response from Ankara.

“The Grey Wolf aggressions, responding to both the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the France-Turkey dispute, appear to be the worst of both worlds for the French public: Street gang violence and Islamist violence, even though the Grey Wolves are actually more nationalist than Islamist,” he said.

“Hopefully French authorities will be able to prevent further violence, but they are already struggling to control the coronavirus pandemic and anti-lockdown protests, so the situation is ripe for more conflict,” Goldman added.


At least five dead in Pakistan building collapse: police

Updated 58 min 37 sec ago
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At least five dead in Pakistan building collapse: police

  • Up to 100 people had been living in the building
  • Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan

KARACHI: A five-story building collapse in Pakistan on Friday killed at least five people and left six injured, with more victims trapped under the rubble, police said.

Rescuers and residents in the mega port city of Karachi worked together to pull people from the debris after the incident at around 10:10 a.m. (0510 GMT).

“We have so far retrieved five dead bodies and six injured people,” a senior local police official, Arif Aziz, said.

Up to 100 people had been living in the building, he added.

Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is leading the rescue operation, said there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped,” describing it as a “worn out building.”

He put the death toll at four.

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.

But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, aging infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.


After decades of service, Taiwan retires its last F-5 fighter jets

Updated 04 July 2025
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After decades of service, Taiwan retires its last F-5 fighter jets

  • To keep pace with increased threats from mainland China, Taiwan has been upgrading both its manned and unmanned aerial assets

HUALIEN, Taiwan: After decades in service, Taiwan’s Vietnam-era F-5 fighter jets are being retired as part of the island democracy’s transition to more advanced hardware.
To keep pace with increased threats from mainland China, Taiwan has been upgrading both its manned and unmanned aerial assets, including purchasing 66 of the latest generation F-16V fighters and upgrading existing aircraft to modern specifications.
China claims the island as its own territory and has never dropped its threat to invade since the sides split amid civil war in 1949.
The air force invited journalists on Friday to witness one last flyby by the F-5, which first entered service with Taiwan in 1965 and most of which have now been converted to trainers, reconnaissance planes or decoys.
The planes began moving into a backing role 30 years ago when Taiwan began acquiring more modern American F-16s, French Mirage 2000s and domestically developed Ching Kuos.
The F-5 is one of the world’s most widely produced jets, with Taiwan the largest operator at one point with 336, producing some 100 domestically. Dozens of countries still use them, including the US, which uses them as pretend opponents in training exercises.
The planes gained favor for their high speed and maneuverability, alongside their low cost and ease of maintenance. For Taiwan, they guarded the skies above the Taiwan Strait against mainland China’s Soviet and domestically built fighters.
Taiwan’s F-5s were based along the eastern coast, separated from China by both the 160 kilometer (100 mile)-wide Taiwan Strait and Taiwan’s formidable Central Mountain Range.


Rio to host BRICS summit wary of Trump

Updated 04 July 2025
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Rio to host BRICS summit wary of Trump

  • The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies
  • Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: A summit of BRICS nations will convene in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Monday, with members hoping to weigh in on global crises while tiptoeing around US President Donald Trump’s policies.

The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies including China, India, Russia and South Africa, which represent nearly half of the world’s population and 40 percent of its GDP.

Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have to navigate the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will miss the summit for the first time.

Beijing will instead be represented by its Prime Minister Li Qiang.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is facing a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will not travel to Brazil, but is set to participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, fresh from a 12-day conflict with Israel and a skirmish with the United States, will also be absent, as will his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a Brazilian government source said.

Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit, as well as the grim anticipation of tariffs threatened by Trump due next week.

“We’re anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,” Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University said.

China, for example, “is trying to adopt a restrained position on the Middle East,” Fernandez said, pointing out that Beijing was also in tricky tariff negotiations with Washington.

“This doesn’t seem to be the right time to provoke further friction” between the world’s two leading economies, the researcher said.

BRICS members did not issue a strong statement on the Iran-Israel conflict and subsequent US military strikes due to their “diverging” interests, according to Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Brazil nevertheless hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues.

“BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,” Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said.

However, talks on finding an alternative to the dollar for trade between BRICS members are likely dead in the water.

For Fernandez, it is almost “forbidden” to mention the idea within the group since Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries that challenge the dollar’s international dominance.

Brazil, which in 2030 will host the COP30 UN climate conference, also hopes to find unity on the fight against climate change.

Artificial intelligence and global governance reform will also be on the menu.

“The escalation of the Middle East conflict reinforces the urgency of the debate on the need to reform global governance and strengthen multilateralism,” said foreign minister Vieira.

Since 2023, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia have joined the BRICS, formed in 2009 as a counter-balance to leading Western economies.

But, as Fernandez points out, this expansion “makes it all the more difficult to build a strong consensus.”


A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

Updated 04 July 2025
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A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

  • The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence

THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A pair of bills cracking down on asylum-seekers wishing to settle in the Netherlands has passed in the Dutch parliament after wrangling and soul-searching by some lawmakers who feared the law would criminalize offering compassionate help to undocumented migrants.
The legislation cuts temporary asylum residency from five to three years, indefinitely suspends the issuance of new asylum residency permits and reins in family reunions for people who have been granted asylum. It passed in the lower house late Thursday evening but could still be rejected in the upper house.
The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence.
Taking tough measures to rein in migration was a policy cornerstone for the four-party coalition led by the Party for Freedom of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The coalition collapsed last month after just 11 months in office, and migration is expected to be a key issue ahead of the snap election Oct. 29.
Wilders pulled the plug on the coalition saying it was taking too long to enact moves to rein in migration. His coalition partners rejected the criticism, saying they all backed the crackdown. His party currently holds a narrow lead in opinion polls over a center-left two-party bloc that recently agreed to a formal merger.
The opposition Christian Democrats withdrew their support for the legislation put to the vote Thursday over a late amendment that would criminalize people living in the Netherlands without a valid visa or asylum ruling — and would also criminalize people and organizations that help such undocumented migrants. The amendment was introduced by a member of Wilders’ party and passed narrowly because a small number of opposition lawmakers were not present for the vote.
The vote took place in the final session of parliament before lawmakers broke for the summer. The upper house will consider the legislation after it returns from the recess. If Christian Democrats in the upper chamber reject it, the legislation will be returned to the lower house.


Russia hammers Kyiv in largest missile and drone barrage since war in Ukraine began

Updated 04 July 2025
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Russia hammers Kyiv in largest missile and drone barrage since war in Ukraine began

  • Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight, the country’s air force said
  • Ukrainian air defenses shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles

KYIV: Waves of drone and missile attacks targeted Kyiv overnight into Friday in the largest aerial attack since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, injuring 23 people and inflicting damage across multiple districts of the capital.

Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight, the country’s air force said. The majority were Shahed drones, while Russia used 11 missiles in the attack.

Throughout the night, Associated Press journalists in Kyiv heard the constant buzzing of drones overhead and the sound of explosions and intense machine gun fire as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept the aerial assault.

Kyiv was the primary target of the attack. At least 23 people were injured, with 14 hospitalized, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles. Another 208 targets were lost from radar and presumed jammed.

Russia successfully hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones. Debris from intercepted drones fell across at least 33 sites.

The attack came hours after President Donald Trump held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and made his first public comments on his administration’s decision to pause some shipments of weapons to Ukraine.

That decision affects munitions, including Patriot missiles, the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile and shorter-range Stinger missiles. They are needed to counter incoming missiles and drones, and to bring down Russian aircraft.

It’s been less than a week since Russia’s previous largest aerial assault of the war. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired 537 drones, decoys and 60 missiles in that attack.

Emergency services reported damage in at least five of the capital’s 10 districts. In Solomianskyi district, a five-story residential building was partially destroyed and the roof of a seven-story building caught fire. Fires also broke out at a warehouse, a garage complex and an auto repair facility.

In Sviatoshynskyi district, a strike hit a 14-story residential building, sparking a fire. Several vehicles also caught fire nearby. Blazes were also reported at non-residential facilities.

In Shevchenkivskyi district, an eight-story building came under attack, with the first floor sustaining damage. Falling debris was recorded in Darnytskyi and Holosiivskyi districts.

Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said drone strikes damaged rail infrastructure in Kyiv.