between the extreme right and the ultra-right, “the link has always existed”, recalls sociologist Erwan Lecoeur

Ultra-right demonstrations have taken place in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme) in recent days. What is the profile of these activists? “There has been a resurgence of these groups, far-right and ultra-right activists, for a good ten years now. The difference is that the ultra-right is much more dangerous and generally less political “, introduces Erwan Lecoeur, sociologist and political scientist, specialist in the extreme right. The small groups that constitute the movement are “mainly identitarians, regularly people quite close to the extreme right of the extreme right”he adds.

The links between the ultra-right and the extreme right

On a political level, is there a link between the ultra-right in France and the extreme right? “The link has always existed, it was less strong (…) towards the end of the 90s (…), but the link has always been strong in particular because these are people who are the security service of the Front national for a very long time, who organized the security services for the demonstrations against marriages for all, but also the security services of the Reconquest party“, indicates Erwan Lecoeur.

“The links are also intellectual. (…) We saw Marine Le Pen and people from the GUD, we saw Mr. Zemmour and people from different identity groups. These links are both vague, because we must not not that they show them too much to the general public, but we know that they exist“, adds the sociologist.