Paris police chief, Didier Lallement, has caused a stir after quoting Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky in his official New Year greetings cards, sent out to hundreds of elected officials and institutions across the region.
After a tough 2020 and apparently seeking to inspire some camaraderie heading into the new year, Lallement drew on a passage from the founder of the Bolshevik Red Army in which Trotsky attempted to rally his “comrades” against the Russian bourgeoisie.
The French police chief selected a couple of lines from Volume One of Trotsky’s ‘Military Writings’, dated April 21, 1918 – months before the infamous ‘Red Terror’, the Bolshevik-led campaign of violence and executions in Russia.
“I am deeply convinced that we will create the necessary order by joint efforts, no matter how the black crows croak,” the quote reads.
“Just know and remember firmly that outside of this – collapse and destruction are inevitable.”
Also on rt.com Adding insult to injury? Paris police chief says seriously-ill Covid-19 patients ignored lockdown
However, far from being a rousing message for 2021, Lallement’s quoting of Trotsky was questioned by French politicians of all shades, including right-wing Marine Le Pen who said the police chief had a “strange conception” of France’s Republican values.
“Should we see the source of his complacency towards the thugs of the extreme left?” the National Rally leader asked in a tweet on Thursday. (RT)