Prosecutors in Brest have requested prison sentences of up to six months for ten ultras from Brest accused of taking part in an attack on Lens supporters after a Ligue 1 match. The requests also include fines of between €1,000 and €2,000 and a three-year stadium ban. Two defendants have been acquitted requests, while the others face sentences ranging from four months suspended to six months in prison.
The case concerns events on April 20, 2025, when around 50 masked Brest ultras, some carrying baseball bats, reportedly blocked the RN12 road linking Brest and Rennes in an attempt to stop vehicles carrying Lens supporters. Projectiles were thrown, vehicles were struck with iron bars and flares were used, causing panic among drivers. Some cars turned around and travelled in the opposite direction.
One person suffered an eye injury from broken glass inside a Lens minibus, while another vehicle had its door torn off. The incident followed an earlier attack that same day on Brest supporters who were having lunch near a beach in the Brest area.
At the correctional court in Brest, deputy prosecutor Antoine Bouriaud described the conduct as “primitive” and “animal-like”. He said it was unacceptable for sport to generate violence and criticised what he characterised as an attempt to seek revenge or administer justice personally.
Twenty-two supporters were arrested in connection with the case. Some were cleared, while others were dealt with through alternative procedures or guilty pleas. The ten defendants appearing in court, aged between 21 and 35, are notably charged with taking part in an armed gathering.
Most of the defendants have no criminal record and deny taking part in the assaults, saying they were merely spectators. One defendant told the court he had followed the others to tell them to stop, while another, a former serviceman already banned from stadiums, said he had been there to try to defuse the situation.
The defendants’ denials prompted the presiding judge to remark that, in effect, everyone had been present but nobody had done anything. Witness accounts estimate that between 40 and 80 supporters took part in the events.
Sources: Le Figaro.