ANTIFA - CHASSEURS DE SKINS (2008)

1984 was all baseball bats, axes and street fights
Kalashnikov raids in slums and squats
By the fountain, Farid and Porky
they already were OGs
In control like bosses
Fights at Cafe Costes Brawls at the precincts
Us Ducky Boys, Bourreur Boys and Asnays.
We went to war against skinheads in "Chatelet"
Combat rings, Colors on our jackets
My baseball bat broke in the fight
Changed my tactics Blast you with my firearms
Keep your automatic even in a picnic
From 13th district to "Les Halles" We were at war
But the best battle will remain "Quai de la Gere"
Batskin got blasted by Papi, blowin' up the score!
Cracking their heads open like it was a sport
Hollow points and boar bullets we crushed their heads
Like cigarettes in an ash tray
We conquered Les Halles and the 13th with pride
And even if it rains bullets...
"Carnal, Hasta La Muerte!"
Paris XIII, Southcide, O.G.K.!
Original Redwarrior in the house!
Resistance Films Presents
Antifa: Chasseurs de skins
Skinheads first appeared in England in late 60's
With their shaved heads, jeans and military boots;
they are an evolution of the Mods,
amateurs of black music, fine clothing, and customized scooters.
Every weekend, mob fights
between Mods and Rockers
would cause injuries on Brighton's beaches.
The hardest of the mods started wearing combat gear.
Those "hard mods" would from the first skinhead crews.
By 1969, soccer terraces were packed with hundreds of skinheads
Pure product of the working class, they hated all other groups,
particularly hippies, which they considered spoiled kids.
Fascinated by Jamaican bad boys,
original skinheads listened to ska and rocksteady.
Soon, provocative and violent skinheads would become the new media threat.
But has they'd get older, the movement would fade away in the early 70's.
The punk rock explosion would reactivate the movement,
as fights between mobs would raidicalize a few Punk bands.
Sham 69, Slaughter & The Dogs or Angelic Upstarts,
would write the soundtrack of this generation.
and create their own sound: Oi! music.
Oi! for "hey you!"
A cockney slang fight-starter.
In France, skinheads appeared around "la Fontaine des Innocents"
in the "Les Halles" district, around 1978 in Paris.
Which was time for Farid and Ammour to step into the urban legend.
Back then, your look and your gang affiliation
were dictated by music. Back then, your look and your gang affiliation
were dictated by music.
Every genre had its dress code and corresponding lifestyle.
Nowadays, every kid in the suburbs wears his head shaved.
But back then, we were the only ones. And we stood the hell out!
Farid and his generation, they used to be Punks.
They were kids from the suburbs, who slid into something that suited them better
Something cleaner, less "destroy" than the punk thing.
They're the ones who've imported the skinhead movement in France.
Guys like Pierrot, Ammour, Farid, Fan... who came from "Colombes".
Before them, l had never seen a skinhead.
It was all due to a band called Sham 69.
Sham 69 originated the big skinhead revival in 80s in England.
We started listening to them because their music was as strong
as the punk rock we had been listening to,
But their look was way more threatening...
The uniform was clean, square, and scared people off.
lf 7 or 8 of us would enter a subway car, the whole car would stand quiet.
We'd show up at a concert, the 300 + audience would look down at their shoes.
We liked that. And we sure as hell liked the violence that went with it.
That's my kind of skinhead "Rumble is my religion? the street is my home".
Music, friends, party and beer... a no one steps on our toes. And no racism!
In the beginning, in the late 60's, no one gave a damn about politics.
What was important was music, clothes and friends.
The shift towards right wing politics came later.
In the early 80's, Skinheads got political
as their mindless violence turned into a culture of hate.
As extreme right parties flourished across Europe,
The broken-down working class would be the perfect ground
for english National Front to plant the nationalist and racist seeds
that would soon infect the Skinhead movement.
Voila ce qui reste de Carnaby Street: de la merde des skinheads
Ils appartiennent au Front National, ce sont des fascistes.
Ils etaient a l'origine des incidents
pendant ce match de football en Belgigue, non?
Vous etes fiers de votre pays? -Oui, mais c'est plein de pakis.
De quoi? -Des pakistanais des immigres.
Et vous les haissez? -Oui, comme les communistes.
"Children of our nation, our glory days have come"
In France as "Front National" broke through
and other radical parties would find a fertile ground with the Skinheads.
FANE, Occident, GUD, GNRB, Union Solidariste...
Starting 87, the PNFE would massively enlist skinheads countryside.
These extreme Right parties all share a common thread:
They have very little representation on the political scene
so their public arena has become the streets
and they express themselves through violence
This phenomena is very intense in Germany and in Italy as well.
Before then, far right partizans used to be mostly upper class.
Now the working class would shift towards the far right
and working class youth hung out in the street.
The macho militarian look would perfectly fit this lost proletarian bunch.
Whereas punk music would basically stand against the system,
with anarchist, situationist and far left ideologies.
Now the rowd and violent aspect of the music itself
would be used by Nazi bands to spit hate.
They all followed a band called Skrewdriver,
l remember their first single, they were a basic Rock band,
before they started claiming neonazi ideology.
Skrewdriwer Ian Stewart
How is music relevant to your movement?
It's a way to reach a young audience that politicians can't reach.
A lot of people find politics boring. And most of the time, it is.
Going to a concert is a lot more fun than going to a meeting.
We reach a lot of people that way, and maybe if they listen to the lyrics,
they might get involved in the Nationalist party in their country.
London's own Skrewdriver would become the leader
of a new Skinhead generation fascinated by Nazi ideology.
French bands would follow England's lead
Evil Skin and their singer Sniff, The Tolbiac Toads, Brutal Combat,
Bunker 84 and Legion 88 would embody the movement.
Beyond music, they would bring forth
a slew of racial attacks in the mid 80's.
The Skinhead would become a tabloid darling
and epitomize the racist thug.
At that time the Skinhead movement in France and everywhere in Europe
had shifted 100% to the far right.
Anybody that tells you: "I was a Skinhead in 85, but i wasn't a fascist"
either wasn't a Skinhead or won't stand for it.
Because 99,9% Skinheads in France and throughout Europe
particularly in England and in Germany, were all Nazis.
That's undeniable.
Back then there was a distinction between "Nationalists Skinheads"
and "National Socialist Skinheads".
Nationalists would wear the French flag.
National Socialists would wear the Swastika.
The "Odal Rhune", to be exact.
Which was a rhombus with two legs...
Racist gangs would multiply:
Nazi Klan in Luxembourg, FIAP in St Jacques,
Legion 88 in Juvisy and Tolbiac Toads would patrol throughout Paris.
Most Tolbiac Toads would wear burgundy Dr. Marten's
and green bomber jackets with a French flag.
They had a music band and badge...
I still have a few because l used to collect them
from all the Skinheads we were robbing.
Their symbol was the french map with toad on top it
the toad had a white T-shirt with braces and boots.
Those were the Tolbiac Toads.
Their so-called "enemies" were the "Luco" Skinheads.
The "Nazi Klan", which used to hang around the Luxembourg & St. Michel stations.
They were Nazis.
Communists, Leftists and Capitalists,
TV, radio, press and money is on their side
What we have is our fists.
that's why we like violence.
Batskin was their "charismatic" leader.
I have to admit that generation of Skinheads were tough fighters
They claim to own their territory
here in St. Michel, where they hang out all night
looking for trouble.
-I'm calling the cops, now!
They were the dominant "tribe" at the time.
They were a threat to teenage Punks.
To hang out in Paris, you had to carefully plan your subway trips
Certain stations just couldn't be crossed!
Les Halles, Luxembourg or the Clignancourt flea market were a no-no.
Some of them started throwing organized raids on immigrants
Mostly they'd be attacking concerts,
where Redskins and Punks could be found.
That's when the "mythology of fear" really took off.
Concerts were so rare, everybody had to be there!
Punks would be found at New Wave concerts,
And so would Skinheads.
Skinheads being more about confrontation
and Punks being more about provocation
Punks would traditionally get stomped on.
it's a classic.
We Skinheads have nothing in common with Punks
Punks are hoodlums, we're not.
They're drug addicts and scumbags
And their music sucks!
We have nothing to do with Punks.
"What happens when you see them in the streets?"
It goes "BOOM!"
The french Punk Rock scene was then blossoming.
Reacting to Skinhead attacks in the Punk community
Bands like Berurier Noir, Guernica, Laid Tenardier or Ludwig Von 88
would organize their own security crews.
There was a great "Alternative" movement
which was happening musically, socially and politically.
And its common denominator was stomping grounds: the streets.
The fact that many bands were political played a big part.
Because what we called "Alternative Rock" was being played all around the country.
With bands that had a strong political consciousness.
They were all antirascists and internationalists
and their dynamics reached a much wider audience
than the hateful movement that fascist bands embodied.
A lot of people were fed up, and ready for some action.
It got to the point where we said: "It's time to put an end to their law".
"It's time for us to unite as a gang."
A radical gang, that would not back down
whose doctrine would radical antifascism,
and to instill fear in the other camp.
The Redwarriors would form in 85 in a squat called "L'U.S.l.N.E"
They would quickly become the best organized gang against neo-nazis.
The streets are a political scene, just like the ballot boxes.
We feel strongly about our streets, and we're not gonna let these guys have them.
That's all. There's no discussing with the extreme Right.
We feel violence is legitimate in extreme circumstances.
and we feel extreme Right requires extreme measures.
It was like "Let's join forces to be stronger"
Redwarriors was about different people coming together:
l knew Jeff for quite some time, since the "U.S.I.N.E" days
Jeff knew Julien
And then came the forth and guy called Nano
At the beginning we were four
From four we became seven
At the end we were fourteen.
We quickly started patrolling with cars, to find and beat these guys down.
Given what they had already done to us,
what they stood for, and the crazy stories we'd hear about them:
Rape, assault, lynching and so forth...
To us, striking back was an act of public safety.
Each one of the Redwarriors practiced a Martial Art,
and had to win at least one championship in his discipline.
Julien was Full Contact French Champion.
Frank was a French Kung-Fu Champion.
Scan was a French Boxing Champion.
I was a European Kung-Fu, Chinese Boxing and Santa Champion.
We also had "The Woods Baby"
Who fought for European Kick Boxing Championship, but lost.
Anyway, we were all into Martial Arts, combat sports.
We were known for that.
We had discipline, rules and principles.
One of the stories that established our reputation
was the "Baldy's Raid"
The club is now called "La Java".
but back then it was the "Baldy's"
They had a party on thursdays called "Acid Rendez-Vous"
Our guys Nano and Jeff use to hang out there.
One night they came across a gang of fascist Skinheads
they got outnumbered and took a loss.
The Skinheads said "This is our turf".
That would be the opportunity for us to turn the situation around.
and show these guys
there would no longer by safe havens for them.
It was one of the first Redwarriors offensives against the Skinhead movement.
Where Pascal de Juvisy got his hair messed up!
He was a Skinhead who wore his hair like Adolf Hitler.
We called him "Pascal de Juvisy"
He was one of the "Legion 88" followers.
So the Redwarriors rolled up them, with reversed Bomber jackets.
To differentiate themselves from the Skinheads.
This how the legend of "Reversed Bombers" came about.
This raid established Redwarriors as an organized gang.
And what a raid! We were all punch drunk off some white wine
We rolled seven deep in a small car!
Some had to be in the trunk!
You had to open it to let them out!
They all rolled out with baseball bats
and swung on sight!
As the story goes, Skinheads would have alarmed the cops...
Anyway the whole area was locked down in five minutes,
and we all got bagged up.
Nano got caught in the hall of a building,
He had surrendered and put his weapon down,
Yet they immobilized him against a stairway
and broke all his teeth.
He was a teenager, and they broke all his teeth.
We were just teenagers.
We get to the precinct in pieces...
l just turned eighteen, Nano's not even legal.
And he's completely fucked up.
We end up in this small cell, seven of us.
across from us in a bigger cell are 3 Skinheads.
The captain comes down holding the "National Hebdo" newspaper
the front page read: "Proud to be French"
And he goes "Who are the fascists, here?"
The Skinheads go "We are, sir."
So the captain proudly displays the newspaper cover!
All the cops behind him were smiling...
and then he hits the bars of our cell with the newspaper
And he goes: "So you're the Reds!"
"My colleagues and I, we'll put our badges aside,
and we'll take you out, one by one."
Intelligence Service was on our backs...
Police was on our backs...
The police might have been on Skinheads as well,
But most of the time, cops were more "tolerant"
with Skinheads.
I've seen cops release Skinheads, with their weapons...
Two months ago,
my friend and I beat this black man down.
We got arrested by cops.
The black guy said: "I'll file a complaint"
The cops said: "you'll file complaint another day."
"But these two will come with us."
They took us back home, and told us:
"We'll give you a pass on the beating and the Swastikas this time,"
"but watch out next time."
They pulled out their National Front cards
and just said "Get out of here."
That's it!
That was french police at the time.
This raid is legendary, because it was our first one
we were all kids
It was the first time we wore reversed Bomber jackets.
it was the first time we were masked
and we kicked the shit out of them,
even though they were veterans.
But from a military standpoint, It wasn't a triumph.
We all got caught, Rico took two months of jail...
Since he was the eldest.
Anyway, many raids followed, just a bit more prepared.
Their raids would generate a nationwide following of the Redskins movement.
The french Redskins borrowed their name from an english band
which was close to left side parties, and the Antinazi league.
Redskins would often display the CCCP Flag or Soviet Union's hammer & faucille logo
They would also wear the colors of the Redskins Washington football team.
Amongst Redskins could be found Punks as well as
young Skinheads claiming the original Skinhead values
as well as kids closer to an emerging Hip-Hop movement.
Wearing Skinheads' bombers, Rockers' jeans,
Military boots or Hip-Hop style sneakers,
the Redwarriors' look would perfectly embody this new urban Golem.
Back then the Berlin Wall was still Up...
You still had the "force" of Eastern countries.
Everybody would claim Communism
But all my comrades were more Libertarians than Communists.
They'd rather be Situationists or Anarchists than with the Communist Party.
We had no connection with the Communist Party.
To us they were "Stals", almost fascists.
So we were much more Libertarians than Communists.
As libertarian band Berurier Noir would become neo-Nazi Skinheads' prime target,
Redwarriors would become their security squad.
Our actions in the streets resonated strongly throughout the community,
that Berurier Noir chose us as their security crew.
It became a tradition for Redskins to manage security of Punk Rock shows.
Listen up, french youth!
We must unite to win
Violence is not the future
but solidarity is.
Listen up, french youth!
We must unite to win
Violence is not the future
but solidarity is.
It became known that if Redwarriors were at the concerts,
there would be no trouble, fascists wouldn't dare to show up.
The clean-up they operated then was salutary
They allowed concerts to be secure,
and for an atmosphere of festivity and brotherhood to spread
where people began to realize they shared values with kin folk.
This dynamic stimulated people, and generated an unstoppable force.
Raise your middle fingers!
We trust you all...
Never again will the National Front get 20% of our votes!
This is the new youth movement
Let's all go to their Nazi events
and stop them all!
Because we are black,
we are white, we are yellow,
and together we are...
DY-NA-MI-TE!
1, 2, 1-2-3-4
The youth
fucks the National Front!
The youth
fucks the National Front!
The youth
fucks the National Front!
The youth
fucks the National Front!
The youth
fucks all Nazis!
By the late 80's, Anti-Fascist activism would regroup more than Punks
Veteran gangs of Rockers like Asnays, Dockers Boys, Crazy Boys or News Brothers
would engage in the Anti-Skinhead war.
Led by Rocky Boys, Ducky Boys would clean up Les Halles,
the historic Skinhead landmark.
Wearing the American Flag and a broken Celtic Cross,
standing for the initials of their gang "D.B.",
Ducky Boys would coin the expression "Skinhead Hunters"
and would use it as slogan.
As Ducky Boys we weren't more than 20.
We'd be able to federate up to 50 persons max.
We were connected with some Hop-Hop gangs,
but most of all with Redwarriors, Ruddy Foxes, and others.
We spent most of our time in the streets,
But what we loved was going to concerts where Skinheads would be.
Anytime we'd hear of a show where they might be, we'd go.
We would always show up!
Starting 1986 the Mayor of Paris, who was also our Prime Minister,
banned Skinhead concerts in Paris, due to the violence.
These idiots used to fight each other a lot.
So they started going to shows where they could still dance and fight.
Like "The Meteors", who played a hard Rockabilly, Psychobilly.
Or shows like "Bad Manners", who used to Ska.
In 88, the Bad Manners concert would end in a giant fight
between Skinhead and Ducky Boys.
2 years later The Meteors concert would lead to a violent showdown
between Ducky Boys and the core of Paris Skinheads.
We used to kick the shit out of them, and leave.
We would throw Ducky Boys flayers and leave victorious.
We used to wear the American Flag
To claim the 50's Rock & Roll movement.
We're the descendants of Rockers like Black Panthers an Asnays.
which used to fight "Rebels"
who were racist rockers, wearing the Confederate Flag.
The late 70's gangs of Rockers were the first guys
to start a war against racist gangs in France.
Ducky Boys would claim their affiliation with Asnays & Black Panthers.
For these black and arab Rockers
fascinated by Rock & Roll's black heroes,
and the american Black Panther Party,
the enemies were "Rebels",
racist rockers who wore the Confederate Flag on their leather jackets.
In night clubs, Panthers are the best dancers,
With girls they can be either gentlemen or machomen.
But when they find out this Rebel and his crew came for the next band
The heat turns up!
Because they've often been attacked by racist "Rebel" gangs
these lovers of swing and early black Rock have formed a gang
very organized and well trained
led by "Grand Jack", who is eighteen years old.
Today at the flea market they met a few "Rebel" opponents
they ripped off a flag that was racial provocation to them.
They always carry a comb, their I.D. and a pair of brass knuckles.
We had problems with Rebels assaulting black people
So we decide to regroup.
When we spot one, we rip his colors off.
And if he moves, he gets knocked out.
Take it off yourself!
Give me something to take it off, then...
Take it off now!
From the Panthers' era,
Asnays paved the way for Ducky Boys,
Who wear U.S. flags as a tribute to their elders.
That's why we wore the American Flag as Ducky Boys.
Before I become a Redwarrior, I was a Ducky Boy.
But the first guys with U.S. flags were Panthers.
Our whole tradition stems from Black Panthers.
We all knew each other.
We all had the same goals.
We wanted to erase Skinheads and Rebels.
I didn't get to know Skinheads, our era was all Rebels,
That's who we've had to fight.
they used to be in Vincennes.
There were a lot Rebels & Skinheads there, and a lot of tough brawling.
The only documentation of the mythic Asnays gang
is the 1988 movie "Furie Rock"
where Asnays play their own characters, opposite to "Crazy Cats",
a gang created for the occasion,
formed of Ducky Boys and Redwarriors.
These bastards are gonna pay!
We're gonna rip you apart!
Have you gone nuts?
Get the fuck out of here!
Rocky, are you stoned?
Enough of your foolishness!
You go fuck yourself! You guys are outta here too!
We're gonna fuck you up!
Let's get out of here, fellas.
And not have our fun?
Leaving like sissies? Our guys are not gonna like it.
I ain't going for that!
Don't break my balls, we're leaving... for now.
You guys get ready for the next time!
Like every saturday at the flea market,
Ducky Boys control the crowd.
checking patches, insignias, and even spoken words
Any doubt about political orientation. they strike.
From then on Redwarriors, Ducky Boys and others
would guard the streets.
The violence used by Skinheads was backfiring on them.
This mobilization would not go unnoticed...
From then on fascists realized they had solid opponents,
that were strong and organized.
They started to really shit in their pants
as they realized they were about to get crushed.
A lot of them simply vanished,
because they weren't that political to begin with
and getting beat down because of their look or their ideas
wasn't something they were willing to do.
What they really liked was hanging out as a gang,
they weren't ready to get demolished for their ideas.
That eliminated a large majority
only the hardcore militants remained
and got organized.
Multiracial society is a failure, because it has opponents.
If it was such a good system, it wouldn't have any opponents.
and the Skinhead movement wouldn't exist.
It's this society's counter-culture.
So you are going to keep on?
Yes.
We have culture and history just like Zulus, Masais,
japanese and chinese people, and we want to defend it.
We are against immigration that mongrels our culture.
Would you beat immigrants down?
Yes, if that's what it takes to be heard and understood.
Batskin was smart, he went to every Skinhead gang
and delivered the message that unity was now needed.
Because we, enemies had gotten extremely powerful.
He was feeling the heat!
Because Ducky Boys, Asnays, Redwarriors were seriously taking them down.
One by one, though organized raids, we were putting them down.
So they started to get organized.
They took all Skinhead crews, and formed a "best of" gang
which the called "J.N.R." for "Nationalist Revolutionary Youth",
which would become the security service of all extreme Right parties.
They were affiliated to the "M.N.R.", which was an extreme Right party.
That was a serious foray into politics.
They are the "J.N.R.",
"Jeunesses Nationalistes Revolutionnaires".
Real thugs, that all did jail time
for either racial or political violence.
A military outfit of the french extreme Right,
they are about 20, in Paris.
They were ultra-radical, in speech and in appearance.
Dressed in all black, with Paratroops on,
They looked like bald-headed riot cops.
They were a real combat squad, well trained and well organized.
They're no longer wearing "White Power" patches to show off,
Now they're parading at National Front demonstrations, and all over.
There was a guy called Jean-Gilles Maliarakis
who had been an extreme Right activist
since the early 70s.
Maliarakis had the bright idea to use Skinheads as militants.
That's when Skinheads started parading at National Front demonstrations.
It's no longer the case, because they've since realized it was bad for the party's image.
There's this famous picture with 50 guys parading in rows
which marks the moment when the political establishment
tried to recruit the less stupid out of this bunch.
Maliarakis had even provided them with an office near Les Halles.
But he quickly gave up, because these guys spent their time drinking and fighting.
He saw them as a potential "avant-garde batallion"
of the extreme Right in France
but it just didn't work.
By 1988, Skinheads have become media darlings in France.
Boosted by the National Front's score at the election,
the extreme Right has become a political scarecrow,
with Skinheads as its most infamous ambassadors.
That year, Skinheads would bang out of control.
In Rouen, a black cop gets beat down by a Skinhead mob.
In Lille, a homeless person is slained while sleeping on a park bench.
An african immigrant shelter is bombed in Cagnes-sur-Mer
causing one death and dozens of wounded casualties.
And in Paris, the Globe Magazine office is destroyed by a fire bomb
Neo-Nazis of the PNFE party would later be charged with the two attacks.
Over 20 racial attacks a day would be recorded, many being fatal...
It's impossible to discuss with these guys.
They've been taught since kindergarden
that black were either slaves or bad, mean people.
Growing up on this,
when they first saw black folks coming to their town
they freaked out and got scared.
They've never bothered to find out who we were,
wether or not we spoke or thought likewise.
So we had to let them know peacefully that we were here to stay.
But when they got violent, we had stand firmly.
Regarding myself, being a member of the Ducky Boys
and hunting Skinheads down was really a choice.
In front of us, we had xenophobic and racist individuals
people who weren't ignorants.
Some people are racist by ignorance
they don't know anything about other people
and they're just struck in their misjudgments.
With Skinheads, we knew they were racist
out of deep conviction.
So we had every reason to step to them.
We knew our enemy by the colors he wore.
Nowadays youngsters fight over nothing,
In our days, from the way one would dress
we knew he was our enemy, through life and death.
We got into hectic situations with people we had never met before,
just because of their gear.
We were engaged in a real war.
Most people didn't know a thing about it, and didn't care.
But we knew that fascists gangs would spot us from a distance.
Skinheads wouldn't attack every black person in the street.
But they'd attack a "Hunter" on sight.
The "Hunter" was the guy saying "I'm black, and fuck you!"
You would become a target for every fascist in the nation's capital
who ran the streets at the time and were all about 25 years old.
the guy wearing his patches was the guy standing proud.
In general, hypocrisy prevails in our society.
You don't really stand for who you are.
The guys wearing their colors
wether they were Skinheads, Duckys, Ruddys or Reds
were basically saying "I'm a Red, I'm a Ducky, a Ruddy... "
"Now, what's up!"
Back then my girlfriend went to Montaigne High school.
And that area was under massive Skinhead control.
"Rue d'Assas" was a dangerous place for a "Hunter"
And l used to go there wearing my colors with pride.
Equipped with the mandatory tear gas grenade
that we would keep inside our sleeves, for easy access.
Always ready to gas and punch
depending on the situation.
Back then, we had codes of honor in the streets.
Sometimes we'd come across 10 guys, one would recognize me
And would say: "I'll fight Kim one by one"
Guys would form a circle around us and we'd fight one to one.
I could even beat the guy down without any of his buddies moving
I would rip his patches off and walk away
with my head up, in plain Skinhead territory.
Today is different, everyone looks the same.
Skinheads wear baseball caps, and can't be recognized.
Neither can their opponents be.
B-Boys all wear the same uniform, and so forth...
Back then each gang had their ideology, their colors
their way of behaving and even their way of walking.
It made us all stand out from each other
It was something you had to stand for, from dusk 'til dawn.
Each gang had its own gimmick.
The typical gang member jacket was:
The B52, the flight jacket or the Bomber jacket.
In Paris, all the first gangs wore those.
B52 flight jacket, Bombers and Flight Jackets.
No "Perfectos" with us!
That was for greasy-haired dudes.
For us it was Flight Jackets, B52s, Bombers.
And all gangs used to go to the same barber shop in Simplon
So we all had the same haircut.
It looked like a launch ramp.
He was specialized in "Afro haircuts",
so he would cut our hair like he did the Black Panthers.
We had short hair on the side and a "ramp" on top.
Skinheads were more simple, they just shaved with a razor.
But I'll be clear: we had nothing in common with Skinheads
We might have worn the same boots, jackets, and adopted their combat techniques,
but we just took what worked for them in the streets.
They had their Triplex belt
I once had to deal with it, and I saw it was efficient!
So I copied that.
Same with Dr. Marten's boots: getting kicked in the head with steel toes,
is like getting hit by a baseball bat.
Again we found it efficient, so we took it...
Now Bomber jackets, they happen to be expensive.
Since we were beating these guys up, we might as well take their jackets!
Actually the test to get into the Redboy, a gang I formed myself
in the 13th district near Cite Universitaire...
Our recruit didn't have Bomber jackets
So the first thing they had to do was rob themselves one!
And you would have to get it from the enemy.
Taking it from a "civilian" was not an option.
It had to be taken from a Skinhead.
Dr. Marten's had to be taken from a Skinhead.
Fighting rings had to be taken from a Skinhead.
And to take rings off a Skinhead, you'd have to dominate him.
Because he'd have to take them off himself.
Or else you'd have to get into barbaric ways I'd rather not talk about.
It's quite simple: you got Paratroop boots on, you're in combat gear.
If skinheads had steel toes, you had to have steel toes.
It was toe to toe.
If they had rings or iron gloves, you had to have rings and iron gloves.
You had a baseball bat, because they had baseball bats.
You had a Bomber to avoid getting your neck grabbed
And your hair cut to avoid getting your hair pulled.
You were a street warrior, just like them.
That was the idea.
I'd wake up in the morning,
I wouldn't stand in front of my mirror, trying to look cute.
No, I'd want to have an ugly face to scare Skinheads off.
It was a war thing.
We really were at war.
Radical Anti-Fascism was emerging and that was a big novelty.
And it wasn't controlled by politicians.
We weren't affiliated with any of them.
It was ultra-raw, ultra-violent and ultra-radical.
And it couldn't be cornered.
Many would say: "They're humans. You're just as bad as they are."
No! We stood by the idea that if someone was a Nazi or a nationalist,
walking around wearing combat boots and a Triplex belt,
he could take action in 2 seconds.
So when we cracked their heads open, we were letting them know
it was dangerous for them to dress like that.
Even if we didn't change the guy's mind
It proved out that when they dressed as "civilians",
they were less likely to cause harm.
How could we leave a Skinhead
showing off a burning cross
proudly displaying combat boots and white laces at a cafe,
showing a Swastika? No way!
The powers that be wouldn't do a thing.
it was a movement they would tolerate.
They let the movement grow because somehow
it helped caricaturize the extreme Right as evil.
Left parties would use the National Front as a scarecrow
so they could stay in power
So evil fascists would be a hot commodity
to wave in the public eye.
Skinheads were over-exposed then, in newspapers, on TV...
I'm African.
You're African? Well get out of here, then!
What if I don't?
They practice what they call "urban guerilla"
in this disowned subway tunnel outside Paris.
They would be shown on TV throwing Molotov Cocktails on walls!
Plain bullshit.
Or they'd be attacking an old immigrant family man.
and people would talk about it...
We just couldn't have that.
The big difference between us and them, is that we would hunt them down.
they'd be waiting to see us, we'd be out searching for them.
We'd go out at night just to find them.
that was a big difference!
We were hunting fascists.
It didn't exist in other countries then, as far as I know.
We were the first guys, here in Paris,
to develop this radical and militant
"Antifa" activism in the streets.
The National Front was starting to score big at the elections.
and we all knew that was only the tip of the iceberg.
We knew fascism and racism were happening in the offices
but for us what was important was th militants in the streets.
In the streets, the concerts, everywhere...
The politicians may have not wanted to shut them off then
But we did it.
Even if it wasn't mature yet, there was a strong political and ideological commitment.
Political? Well, we were all just out of adolescence...
Politics were a big disappointment, both in the Right and Left camps...
to this day, I may add.
They haven't brought up the changes expected by french youth.
Well there was a whole generation coming from immigration
that had gotten conscious.
They didn't want to just be cornered in their community,
but rather to get involved socially in the country, as french citizens.
That played a big part.
It would soon be used by political organizations like "S.O.S. Racisme"
But a new consciousness had risen in the ghettos
People would say: "I'm french too,
and I'm not gonna let anybody step on my toes."
Young ghetto kids such as myself,
we had no references in terms of identity.
I didn't know where I was going at the time...
But as black individual there was a lot of frustration
We had no role models no guidelines, nothing.
So when we got involved in this movement,
we felt like we existed.
The real gangs of "Hunters", we were no more than 3 or 4.
In Paris, we were less than a 100. Total.
And we were all brothers.
Even if we weren't from the same gang,
when it came time to go against a fascist gang
We rolled as one. Respect!
Some of us might have not liked each other as individuals,
when had to stick together we stuck together.
We all felt strongly about fighting fascism in France.
It was a lost cause, if you look at today's elections.
But our thing then was to not let neo-Nazis run the streets.
It gave us a lot of hope for the future.
Because it was really a collective struggle.
The Skinhead movement was clearly about identity
deeply racist and xenophobic...
There was something universal about our thing.
We're the Anti-Skinhead movement!
Watch this: Ducky Boys! We're the best!
Some organizations reached out to us, like "SCALP" or "SOS Racisme",
to manage security at their concerts and demonstrations.
We did it sometimes, because it related to our ideas.
But as Ducky Boys we never got involved with any political party
Le Pen, you're a fascist! We will SCALP you!
Le Pen is trash Fuck him!
He's a fascist! Death to Le Pen!
Of all "Hunters", Redwarriors would be the only ones
to get involved with associations.
they would get close to "SCALP" "Section Clearly Anti Le Pen",
An Anti-Fascist Libertarian group created in Toulouse in 1984.
"SOS Racisme" would also recruit them to manage security
and paste posters up.
An "S.O.S. Racisme" campaign happened to be running
at the same time than the 1988 presidential campaign.
So if you were pasting posters for S.O.S. Racisme,
you were bound to run into guys pasting for the National Front.
And if you don't paste at night,
your posters will not see daylight.
So Julien Dray, who is now a clean cut french deputy,
had just left the Revolutionary Communist League then,
and he co-founded "SOS Racisme" with Harlem Desir.
So he still had this "far Left" political culture
when we were introduced to him as all terrain guys
capable to paste for "SOS Racisme" at night, in exchange of a fee.
So they provide us with two vans.
So we used them to paste their posters, of course,
but you can imagine: 2 vans, unlimited gas budget,
our nocturnal activities just took off!
We now had a cover because we were working for a legit organization,
and the vans were a blessing for our raids on fascists:
10 guys per vehicle just wreaking havoc!
Like one day, we were rolling around in the SOS Racisme vans,
I'm driving with Kim, Bozo, Jeff and a few others...
Bozo suddenly spots fascists he had seriously rumbled with
just a few days earlier.
So I pull the break, everybody rushes out,
and Kim starts the fight.
Back then I always had a small gun in my drawers,
And the skinheads were in their thirties,
big bald-headed monsters, with army tattoos on their arms.
So as I pull my gun out,
Jeff stops me says: "Are you turning gay?"
"You take this guy, one to one."
Kim was barely seventeen years old!
Maybe even younger...
The Skinhead I'm facing has forearms the size of my legs.
We since learn these guys were paratroop combat instructors!
But we didn't know it then, So Kim goes...
I rushed on him screamin' "Redwarriors!"
Boom! I get punched in the face Flash in my head!
I got punched in my life, but this guy!
Every time he punched, I'd see stars!
So I fell on the ground, but managed to escape,
I turned back and managed to kick him in the head.
he then grabbed me by the balls, threw me on a car and started punching,
my head was bouncing on the hood!
I escaped again, and tried to kick him...
Kim was pretty good, he did his thing...
But the guy was 15 years older and 40 pounds heavier,
so he took some hits, but he was a tough fighter
and he eventually managed to hit Kim with a perfect right.
I fell...
Kim was severely touched, and it got nasty.
So Julien came in and threw a left, a right and a high-kick...
the guy grabbed him, flipped, layed him on his back,
and went at it like "Ultimate Fight!"
Julien somehow managed to corner him...
Meanwhile, the other guys were going at it hard
hitting each other with baseball bats...
So this baseball bat fell on the floor, I grabbed it...
And he stood perpendicular to the guy
whose head I was holding...
Kim hit him with 2 blows...
I swear I felt the guy turning to jelly in my arms...
It was ultra-violent but back then
the more violent, the better...
These guys weren't choir boys either.
By the late 80s, Hip-Hop culture would blow up in France
Breakdance, Graffiti and Rap would become new means of expression
and the foundations of this new generation's own culture.
Hip-Hop would bring in a slew of new gangs called "Zulu",
that would soon make noise in the nation's capital.
Around the same time, In 1988-89
There was a big fad in Paris, everyone looked like a "Hunter".
Because of rap group Public Enemy, a lot of Hip-Hoppers adopted the militant look.
Everyone in Paris was a so-called "Skinhead Hunter"...
Everywhere we'd see kids with red bandanas, army fatigues...
Calling themselves a gang, and going out "hunting".
But when a raid would get serious, they'd disappear forever.
Then serious group started to appear
like the "Felins", which were respectable, and the "Kamikazes"...
Duplicating a model "Made in America", these gangs would engage in fratricide wars,
while some of them like "Black Dragons" or "Bourrer Boys"
would rough up Skinheads on sight
"Zulu" gangs were something else,
They were anti-fascists because they were black,
first and foremost.
They wouldn't really hunt Skinheads.
Sure, they'd hit a Skinhead if they saw one,
but Zulu gangs weren't "Hunters".
Some of them might have rolled with us
because they wanted to hit Skinheads too.
But the difference with us is that we would really hunt.
We'd go out looking for these guys.
Zulus would just take them out if they saw them.
Zulus took on attacking anything that moved, really.
Skinheads just happened to be there.
It became very unsafe to dress a certain way
Skinheads grew tired of getting beat down on the streets,
and took refuge in the "Parc des Princes" stadium.
In 89, Skinheads would flee Paris and fall back in the terraces
of the Parc des Princes, amongst PSG supporters.
Batskin and his JNR guys would create the "Pitbull KOP"
Featuring about 100 members whose violent provocations
would have police come out for each PSG game
Proudly sitting by the "KOP de Boulogne", they'd federate many hooligans.
We got beat up because we're black, that's all.
How did it happen?
We weren't doing anything, we just got beat up.
As Skinheads were trying to take over stadiums,
a new gang would federate Ducky Boys and ghetto kids alike.
On game nights, Ruddy Foxes would hunt down
"casual" Skinheads and their allies in western Paris.
That's when we got into crucial conflicts with them.
And not with JNRs, that would rather parade for cameras
at National Front demonstrations than hold their own in the streets.
But with former Legion 88 members, who rolled with KOP guys,
former Nazi Klansmen FIAP guys,
They had formed a new clique, that wouldn't dress like Skinheads.
They'd rather sport flight jackets, sneakers, and a clean part in their hair.
Skinheads would call it the "Casual" look.
They were a lot more discrete aged 25 to 30 years old.
Because they now had day jobs, they couldn't wear their hair bald.
We ran into big problems with these guys.
We were younger kids, mostly kick boxing,
our strength was in our numbers...
They were armed.
The first time I got shot was by them.
They were the first guys to pull knives, brass knuckles,
tear gas grenades, retractable stick, lead gloves and so forth.
They were the hardcore bunch.
Not really bad guys when isolated,
but they were strong believers, and never backed down.
To your face, they would tell you: "I'm a Nazi and a racist. Fuck you."
They were still fascists.
They just lost the French Flags on their Bomber jackets.
Both daring and styling, Ruddy Foxes would adopt the Skinhead look;
Returning its original meaning to the movement
and showing that Skinheads had lost so much ground
that even their uniforms were no longer theirs.
That's when I learn about original Skinhead culture.
So we started to integrate their style to ours
It became a fusion between Skinhead and ghetto style.
We could wear Bomber Jackets with Stan Smith trainers,
or Lacoste sweatpants with Fred Perry shirts!
And we got extreme, started wearing bleached jeans,
bulldog patches, all sporting bald heads...
It become ambiguous, people thought we were fascists...
We look more like Skinheads than they did!
We'd come face to face with them,
I'd look at my crew and at theirs
They'd look like "Hunters", and we'd look like Skinheads!
In the end we were Skinheads.
We started as "Hunters", we ended up Skinheads...
but always Anti-Fascists!
Once there were no more Skinheads, we split.
We existed because they existed.
But without fascists in the streets, we had no reason to be around.
So we went our separate ways...
They participated to the rehabilitation of the original Skinhead movement.
That we've witnessed the past years with the emergence of movements
such as SHARP, and other alike.
They made it possible for people to portray themselves as Skinheads
and yet be affiliated with anarchist-libertarian movements.
That was impossible in the mid-eighties.
This french movement would parallel the S.H.A.R.P. movement in America,
that has since spread worldwide.
S.H.A.R.P. would stand for "Skinhead Against Racial Prejudice"
For american Skinheads, whose movement was being cannibalized
by the White Aryan Nation or the KKK
this return to the origins,
"The spirit of 69" was a matter of survival.
England would follow the same lead with "R.A.S.H.",
for "Red and Anarchist Skinhead"
a radical Anti-Fascist group with ethos
deeply anchored in anarchist-libertarian culture
On the ruins of eastern european regimes and throughout Northern Europe,
neo-Nazi Skinheads would get organized.
"Boneheads", as they would now be called,
would regroup in organizations such as "Blood & Honour"
or "Hammerskins".
Spreading hate on the internet and parading at Nazi anniversaries
But at each of their attempts to reach the limelight
They would have to face "Antifas".
Translation on english: Thibaut de Longeville OCR & soft subbed: RedSkins.ru
"Keep fighting!"