“There is a change in relationship to street violence, but also to terrorist violence,” according to a specialist

The radical far right is increasing its violent actions after several news events. According to Emmanuel Casajus, doctor in sociology and specialist in the radical far right, the new generation of activists is “better organized and more motivated”.

From the murder of Lola to the death of Thomas in Crépol (Drôme), small far-right groups seize news items with violence “which asserts itself more and more”, notably thanks to a new generation of activists who are not afraid to take “legal risks”, according to Emmanuel Casajus. This extreme right specialist has a doctorate in sociology at the Laboratory of Social and Political Change in Paris. He is the author of Style and violence in the radical far right (Editions du Cerf).

franceinfo: Have the modes of action of these small groups changed?

Emmanuel Casajus: This way of acting and this ability to mobilize almost everywhere in France are quite recent. For me, it goes back to the Lola affair, a little over a year ago. Then, the know-how was confirmed in Saint-Brevin [où des militants d’extrême droite ont incendié la maison du maire en mars], with fairly tolerated violence and which aroused few indignant reactions. It is something quite new that is being put in place, which is asserting itself more and more, with a desire to act very quickly and to act everywhere, and an increasingly clear capacity to do so. I also think, for example, of Annecy, with the mobilization which took place the day after the attack in the children’s park or even during the demonstrations for Nahel. There, they had a little more difficulty mobilizing, but they managed to do so in several places, with know-how that had developed over the last few years. In 2015-2016, Action Française organized raids by activists from Paris to Marseille to protect their premises. But at the time, they had difficulty filling the cars and it was a lot of revolutionary nationalist activists who filled, or even organized, these round trips.

How can we explain this greater ability to mobilize?

I think there is a question of trust, a new generation which is inspired by practices which come from the stadium, notably with the movements of supporters who move from one city to another to support their teams. I am not sure that the activists are more numerous, but they are more motivated, with a desire to put politics at the forefront of their lives and to take risks in terms of career, in terms of justice, which is more affirmed than for the previous generation of activists. They are better organized and more motivated, in particular thanks to Telegram messaging which allows them to plan actions.

Is their violence more accepted?

There is a change in relationship to street violence, but also to terrorist violence. At the time when I carried out a field survey, in 2015-2016, terrorist violence was quite condemned by the actors of this movement. An expression that kept coming back was “Breivik-style gogol” [du nom du terroriste norvégien d’extrême droite], that is to say a man all alone at home, who takes weapons and does anything. The activists said: “We have nothing to do with this kind of person. We are activists, we distribute leaflets.” I have the impression that this contempt for this type of behavior has completely disappeared and that today, it is quite the opposite. These are figures highlighted, almost deified. There is a kind of change in the relationship to violence in society as a whole, because the condemnation also comes less quickly and less strongly. Social norms around far-right violence have changed, including within the far right and its radical fringe.