How French Activists Are Leading an 'Urgent' Fight Against the Surging Far Right
Byline Times is an independent, reader-funded investigative newspaper, outside of the system of the established press, reporting on 'what the papers don't say' - without fear or favour.
To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis.
Help us build the better media Britain deserves
While France marked Victory Day on 8 May, Europe Day on 9 May, and the National Memorial Day for Slavery and Its Abolitions on 10 May, two types of activists were getting ready to march: one made up of neo-Nazis, the other of anti-fascists.
The former are members of C9M, or Comité du 9 Mai, who regularly demonstrate with racist slogans in Paris and other French cities. Established in 1994, it commemorates Sébastien Deyzieu, a militant from the now-dissolved ultra-nationalist group L'Œuvre française, who died during a police pursuit.
The latter wants to denounce the growing action from these fascists, like the collective Marche sur les Fachos. "The C9M has become a barometer of the resurgence of the ultra-right," they wrote in their call to march last week. "Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants in the march has only increased."
Repression
Last minute, on the evening of 9 May, French authorities decided to ban the anti-fascist march, while the C9M march went ahead.
Volunteers had worked for weeks to prepare and advertise the anti-fascist march, only to be forced to change location and downsize it to a static meeting at Montparnasse.
"With other activists, we produced platforms on social media," one volunteer told Byline Times, remaining anonymous as the movement has no hierarchy. "We held meetings, called for a march, wrote a press release…" Some clashed with members of C9M or with the police.
Members of anti-fascist groups are convinced that inaction or silence in the face of fascist groups is the worst response, but they face increasing repression.
Jeune Garde (young antifascist guard) and Urgence Palestine are, for instance, under attack by the Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, who wants to dissolve them.
Founded by the elected MP Raphaël Arnault, it has managed to get far-right and neo-Nazi groups to disband in cities like Lyon and Lille. The collective named Action Antifasciste Paris Vanlieue also saw many of its marches banned, notably in 2024.
For Eric Fassin, a sociologist teaching at University Paris 8-Saint-Denis, who published two books on the matter in 2024 - State Anti-Intellectualism and the Politics of Gender & Race and Misère de l'anti-intellectualisme - it is a worrying trend that fuels the far right.
"We've seen more generally the demonisation of the left, which is the counterpoint to the de-demonisation of the far right," he told Byline Times.
It is something that has been the strategy of the US for a long time, but it has also become the strategy of Macron's government, of Macron himself and of his party. They argue that the left is the real danger to democracy
Eric Fassin, sociologist
Colonial Undertone
For the anti-fascist groups, it is not acceptable that fascists demonstrate so close to Victory day, or to celebrate the victory against nazism without recognising the role of the colonial soldiers and the crimes committed by French authorities at the time.
May 8 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in Europe, but in Algeria it commemorates the massacres in Setif, Guelma and Kherrata - on the same day in 1945 - where the French army fired on indigenous Muslim soldiers, demonstrating to demand their war pension as a retribution of their effort in the fight with the French Liberation Army led by Charles de Gaulle from central Africa then London. Evidence-based assessments estimate that up to 45,000 might have been killed and wounded on that day in French Algeria, including children and mothers bombed in their homes.
How a 'Populist' Media Has Mainstreamed the Far Right
Right-wing daily papers in the UK do not represent 'pu...
To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis.
Help us build the better media Britain deserves
While France marked Victory Day on 8 May, Europe Day on 9 May, and the National Memorial Day for Slavery and Its Abolitions on 10 May, two types of activists were getting ready to march: one made up of neo-Nazis, the other of anti-fascists.
The former are members of C9M, or Comité du 9 Mai, who regularly demonstrate with racist slogans in Paris and other French cities. Established in 1994, it commemorates Sébastien Deyzieu, a militant from the now-dissolved ultra-nationalist group L'Œuvre française, who died during a police pursuit.
The latter wants to denounce the growing action from these fascists, like the collective Marche sur les Fachos. "The C9M has become a barometer of the resurgence of the ultra-right," they wrote in their call to march last week. "Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants in the march has only increased."
Repression
Last minute, on the evening of 9 May, French authorities decided to ban the anti-fascist march, while the C9M march went ahead.
Volunteers had worked for weeks to prepare and advertise the anti-fascist march, only to be forced to change location and downsize it to a static meeting at Montparnasse.
"With other activists, we produced platforms on social media," one volunteer told Byline Times, remaining anonymous as the movement has no hierarchy. "We held meetings, called for a march, wrote a press release…" Some clashed with members of C9M or with the police.
Members of anti-fascist groups are convinced that inaction or silence in the face of fascist groups is the worst response, but they face increasing repression.
Jeune Garde (young antifascist guard) and Urgence Palestine are, for instance, under attack by the Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, who wants to dissolve them.
Founded by the elected MP Raphaël Arnault, it has managed to get far-right and neo-Nazi groups to disband in cities like Lyon and Lille. The collective named Action Antifasciste Paris Vanlieue also saw many of its marches banned, notably in 2024.
For Eric Fassin, a sociologist teaching at University Paris 8-Saint-Denis, who published two books on the matter in 2024 - State Anti-Intellectualism and the Politics of Gender & Race and Misère de l'anti-intellectualisme - it is a worrying trend that fuels the far right.
"We've seen more generally the demonisation of the left, which is the counterpoint to the de-demonisation of the far right," he told Byline Times.
It is something that has been the strategy of the US for a long time, but it has also become the strategy of Macron's government, of Macron himself and of his party. They argue that the left is the real danger to democracy
Eric Fassin, sociologist
Colonial Undertone
For the anti-fascist groups, it is not acceptable that fascists demonstrate so close to Victory day, or to celebrate the victory against nazism without recognising the role of the colonial soldiers and the crimes committed by French authorities at the time.
May 8 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in Europe, but in Algeria it commemorates the massacres in Setif, Guelma and Kherrata - on the same day in 1945 - where the French army fired on indigenous Muslim soldiers, demonstrating to demand their war pension as a retribution of their effort in the fight with the French Liberation Army led by Charles de Gaulle from central Africa then London. Evidence-based assessments estimate that up to 45,000 might have been killed and wounded on that day in French Algeria, including children and mothers bombed in their homes.
How a 'Populist' Media Has Mainstreamed the Far Right
Right-wing daily papers in the UK do not represent 'pu...
Activity