France, which has been rocked by its own anti-racism protests and also anger over discrimination against migrant communities in Paris suburbs, now reports a gangland war that turned the city of Dijon into a battleground over the last few days. Reports now indicate the dispatch of special police units to the city to deal with “dozens of Chechens” who have clashed with other communities.

Le Monde reported on Monday that hundreds of police were rushed to Dijon. The city is several hours southeast of Paris. The mayor said unprecedented incidents had taken place and videos show “armies” of young men with baseball bats fighting. In one video a car flips over like a scene from a film. According to one report Chechens from “all over France” had come to the city to battle “drug dealers.” Why? The reports in French say that a 16-year old member of the community was assaulted. Over fifty Chechens came to the city to defend their community and seek justice.

— Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) June 15, 2020
Gunshots reportedly injured one man who runs a pizza place. Three different waves of Chechen young men descended on the city, in reports that read more like something out of battles in the Wild West than France in 2020, with lurid tales of “two hundred Chechens” gathering. One man was quoted in local media as saying Chechens came from all over Europe to seek vengeance for the harm done to the teenager, even from Germany and Belgium. “We never intended to ransack the city,” he said. City officials have condemned the attempted murder and organized gangs.

According to video on Monday the Interior Ministry sent its special RAID police unit to the city. Videos posted online called the city a “warzone” with what were either allegedly gun shots or firecrackers ringing out and smoke from a fire burning. Video claimed to show “heavily armed militias” in the city, with men brandishing an AK-47 and a large pistol. It appears some French media want to downplay the violence and not mention it, with most of the harshest videos appearing online. In one video at least a dozen men brandish weapons. Commentators suggested the youth in the videos were of North African origins and members of gangs who the Chechens were searching out.

— Mete Sohtaoğlu (@metesohtaoglu) June 15, 2020
Many who posted videos from the streets expressed shock the large number of rifles and weapons visible in a continent like Europe where there is supposed to be gun control. The absence of police and law enforcement was also seen as concerning. Lack of media coverage also led many wondering why western media doesn’t seem to cover violence in the streets. Anti-immigrant sentiment and remarks about “this looks more like Syria,” were common on social media. It was difficult to confirm all the videos, some of which showed shocking scenes of gunfire at night in the city, and the lack of media on the ground leaves many questions about what happened in Dijon over the last several days. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to take down no statues in the wake of protests in other countries that saw historic statues removed.