Demonstrations of force by ultra-right groups are increasing in France. Several dozen people, armed with iron bars and baseball bats, were arrested in Romans-sur-Isère, a week after Thomas’ death in Crépol.
“Their ideology advocates violence.” Several ultra-right groups have organized protestsshows of force in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme), Saturday November 25 and Sunday November 26, a week after the death of Thomas in Crépol, stabbed to death in a brawl leaving a community festival. The call was launched by the Division Martel, a small group of very young Parisian neo-Nazis. The group, whose dissolution was announced Tuesday by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, is close to the Union Défense Group (GUD), another ultra-right organization of the nationalist-revolutionary movement.
Armed with baseball bats, iron bars and brass knuckles, these ultra-right activists who arrived in large numbers on Saturday evening in the Monnaie district claimed to want to make “justice for Thomas”while chanting “The street, France, belongs to us”. An assumed operating mode. One of these violent activists proclaimed: “Be ready for war, it’s the only solution” at France Bleu Drôme Ardèche, Sunday. To better understand the ideology of these groups, franceinfo spoke with Emmanuel Casajus, sociologist, member of the Laboratory of Social and Political Change at Paris-Cité University and author of Style and violence in the radical far right (Editions du Cerf, 2023).
Franceinfo: Does the mobilization of ultra-right groups after Thomas’ death surprise you?
Emmanuel Casajus: No, because we find ourselves in a logic that has continued since the death of Lola in Paris in October 2022. This affair had already been taken up by the ultra-right, who spoke at that time of “Francocide”. Its members had developed a capacity for rapid mobilization in many places in France, by coming together with several groups to organize quite numerous demonstrations. It is a know-how that they consolidated with the demonstrations against a center for migrants in Saint-Brévin-les-Pins (Loire Atlantique) last spring and which was accompanied by violent actions. This still resulted in the burning of the mayor’s house.
How is Thomas’ death a catalyst for these groups?
The idea defended by these groups is that we are in a climate of civil war in which the French, white, are regularly victims of attacks by those perceived as foreigners and whom they consider to be barbarians who occupy and invade France. They have a racist and simplistic vision of society, which can be summed up as “the French against the others”.
“The strategy put in place by these groups is to use each news item to disseminate this vision of the world and mobilize as much as possible.”
Emmanuel Casajus, sociologist specializing in the ultra-rightat franceinfo
This includes marches or tributes. They work a lot on their local presence and try to give the impression of being present everywhere. The gatherings are often made up of activists who come from all over France. They want to show that the French are capable of defending themselves. This allows them to recruit, because they appear, in their opinion, as the spearhead of the defense of the French.
Is violence therefore anchored in the practices of these groups?
Yes, their ideology advocates violence. This was already the case in the 1990s. And we can think of the attempted assassination of Jacques Chirac by Maxime Brunerie in 2002 in Paris. But the organization of the groups has evolved. Bringing together and moving 80 activists requires fairly recent motivation and know-how. We are dealing with a particularly well-organized generation that has developed over the last five years. Thus, these groups introduce training in this violence, particularly for the youngest, and train in combat sports. It is ritualized.
There is a desire to do violence there. While Action Française [formation politique nationaliste et royaliste d’extrême droite] used violence to defend themselves and possibly intimidate, these groups of the national-revolutionary movement want to attack and scare.
“The violence is punitive, because there is, among these groups, the conviction that civil war is coming and that we must act now before it becomes inevitable.”
Emmanuel Casajus, sociologist specializing in the ultra-rightat franceinfo
This phenomenon of raiding a neighborhood, of punitive expedition, seems quite new to me. This weekend’s modus operandi is reminiscent of the Martel Division attack in front of the Victor-Hugo high school in Paris last April, and noted by Streetpress.
Is this threat taken seriously by the intelligence services?
The General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) has been observing these groups for a number of years. I am thinking in particular of a statement from the director of the DGSI, Patrick Calvar, who alerted in 2016 [lors d’une audition à l’Assemblée nationale] on the possibility of a civil war situation if ultra-right groups took up arms after the attacks of January and November 2015. Significant work has been carried out to dismantle far-right attack plans. But the government is blowing hot and cold a little more on this subject. For example, he was criticized for his lack of responsiveness to the threats weighing on the mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins.
When this violence from ultra-right groups occurs, does it still shock as much as it did twenty years ago?
This violence has become normalized and has become more tolerable. The reactions are less strong, less outraged, even half-heartedly supporting the action of these groups. In Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, it was very clear. There was also a certain uneasiness on the part of the government to talk about it. More generally, the media reactions seem less panicked to me than, for example, at the time of the desecration of the Jewish cemetery of Carpentras (Vaucluse) in 1990.
What are the links of these groups with far-right parties, such as Reconquest and the National Rally?
What I have observed in the past, and which continues in the same way, is that these groups will lend a helping hand to more institutionalized parties and movements, which do not necessarily have big guns available. For example, they will do private security. In 2016, a security service was set up for the Manif pour tous and brought together people from the GUD, Génération identitaire and Action française. This can also involve putting up posters. Action Française was committed like this to the National Front in 2017. The same thing is found today at Reconquête, Eric Zemmour’s party, with people who are both members of the party and of these groups.
Where are these ultra-right groups based?
In certain cities, these movements are particularly developed, such as in Lyon, where identity groups are well established, but also the French nationalist party. In Paris too, even if we feel it less, because it is a very big city. However, a new phenomenon is taking place. Large and medium-sized cities, which were relatively spared, have seen sections emerge in recent years.
We are thus observing an emergence of ultra-right groups in regions traditionally relatively unaffected, such as Brittany. I am thinking in particular of Rennes, where L’Oriflamme, which was initially a section of Action française, is very active. This is partly due to a renewal of generations.
These groups seem to attract a rather young audience. What do we know about their composition?
These groups are indeed very young. The age of the members of the Division Martel ranges from 14 years old to their twenties. Generally, around the age of 30, these activists will slowly withdraw from politics because they have children, a family or a demanding job. Some will return there around age 60, when they retire. It should be noted that these groups are mainly made up of men. In addition, the Action Française group, for which I have sociological data, is made up of 60% activists from bourgeois and aristocratic families.
What attracts these young men?
I observed the promotion of a lifestyle by these movements during my survey carried out in 2015-2016, which remains valid today. Ultra-right groups present a promise of a better self. This happens in particular through sport.
“Each of these groups thus has an aesthetic and highlights a certain type of virility, which is seen as inspiring for these young people.”
Emmanuel Casajus, sociologist specializing in the ultra-rightat franceinfo
Their activism is a way of making palpable an ideal of life that they want to embody. With groups in constant competition, the goal is to be in the one that is the strongest, the most tactical, the most dynamic and the most virile.