{"id":4481,"date":"2021-02-10T08:59:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T08:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/?p=4481"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T08:03:24","slug":"generation-identitaire-the-fight-for-europe-and-against-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/2021\/02\/10\/generation-identitaire-the-fight-for-europe-and-against-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire: The Fight for Europe and Against Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article has been published online by the Magyar Nemzet on February 10, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYouth who oppose immigration and Islamization\u201d \u2013 a characterization of the French G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire mission, a movement now caught in the crosshairs of the French government. Minister of the Interior, G\u00e9rald Darmanin recently vowed to do everything in his power to disband the right-wing movement. However, spokeswoman of the organization, Tha\u00efs d\u2019Escufon revealed to our paper that there\u2019s no way the government will shut them down: their organization functions fully in accordance with the law.<\/h4>\n

The Pyrenees, Col du Portillon pass, French side. In the beginning of January, the local prefect ordered police to watch the mountain trail with extreme caution as reports of \u201cimmigration and terrorist threats\u201d lay on the route often used by African immigrants sneaking from Spain to France.<\/p>\n

A couple weeks later, a dozen individuals from the right- wing youth group, G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire, wearing \u201cDefend Europe\u201d inscribed jackets, carried out a two-day operation in the area: with the help of drones and alongside the border guards, they watched for illegal immigrants\u2013 lawfully helping the work of French authorities.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These weren\u2019t the first efforts of the organization which originates from France but now functions in multiple countries (including Hungary). Two years ago, a similar border-surveillance-action was organized in the French Alps.<\/p>\n

\u2013 No way. You will not make Europa home!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 wrote the banner stretched above the pass in front of the cameras. In 2017, the entire world turned its eyes on the organization when they blocked the way of NGO ships transporting immigrants to Europe. \u2013 The main goal was to draw attention to the fact that migrants continue to arrive in our country illegally and that the French Government is lying when they say they\u2019re doing everything to stop illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

The police only went out to the territory around the pass when they found out we were planning an action there<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 said 21-year-old Tha\u00efs d\u2019Escufon, spokeswoman of the movement, to Magyar Nemzet. \u2013 Never again should a drop of French or European blood fall by the knives of terrorists \u2013 sounded the G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire statements recorded on the spot. The nearly decade-old conservative movement openly assumes their anti-migration and anti-Islamization stance, drawing criticism from many. Moreover, in contrast to the left-wing NGOs, this movement is not supported by any speculators or governments \u2013 it exists solely off of donations.<\/p>\n

\u201cFascists, xenophobe!\u201d These are the common labels from left-wing representatives and other pro-migration activists referring to the youth movement. And the actions at the Portillon pass \u2013 which caused a great deal of controversy \u2013 did not go unmentioned by the French Minister of the Interior, G\u00e9rald Darmanin either. The Ministry head announced he would do everything in his power to stop the anti-migrant NGO.<\/p>\n

\u2013 The group\u2019s regular manifestations and maneuvers undermine the French Republic\u2019s peace<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 stated Darmanin at the end of January. The Minister also explained recently that terrorism has nothing to do with immigration, as three-quarters of terrorists are French citizens. \u2013 If we have the right conditions, I will definitely demand the dissolution of the movement \u2013 said G\u00e9rald Darmanin. Yet, two weeks ago, the French authorities searched in vain for this evidence which would hypothetically warrant the right-wing group\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n

\u2013 We\u2019re the right\u2019s Greenpeace<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 explained Tha\u00efs d\u2019Escufon in relation to this, insinuating that the organization has nothing to hide. Despite the French woman\u2019s young age, she professionally defends against harsh attacks, criticisms, and threats, not only from the political elite, but also from opinion leaders of social media. So, if the French Minister of the Interior wants to act within the law, he will have a hard time achieving his goal; G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire has been very careful to ensure that their actions are always fully legal. While some offenses are committed knowingly, these are done solely for the purpose of raising awareness; they are never involved in violent crime.<\/p>\n

Usually, the only punishable offense of their banner-wielding protests is climbing onto a roof without permission. \u2013 Our activists undergo regular training to make sure we act with discipline, preparedness and calmness during our actions \u2013 elaborated the spokeswoman. D\u2019Escufon also said they ensure their activists don\u2019t damage anything, attack anyone, or provoke police or anyone else. Even their messaging is nonviolent \u2013 as opposed to the mass-migration they combat which is producing a population change in France and carrying the threat of Islamist terrorism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite lives matter\u201d and \u201cJustice for the victims of anti- white racism\u201d wrote the movement\u2019s banners displayed on the top of a building, last June during a Black Lives Matter protest (which was held illegally).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Antifa members immediately attacked them, while the crowd of twenty- thousand illegal protestors cheered on the attackers, and the police stood by idly watching. In the end, the G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire activists were brought in by the police in a barred bus.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Since Islamist organizations were disbanded, they now want to balance things out \u2013 said Tha\u00efs d\u2019Escufon. However, the double standard arises here too: neither the Black Lives Matter protestors nor the Antifa members were threatened by French authorities.<\/p>\n

\u2013 The Interior Minister wants to be liked by the left<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 said the young spokeswoman. \u2013 This isn\u2019t the first time they want to disband us, but they can\u2019t find a legal reason \u2013 she continued. \u2013 If they did manage to do so, we would find a way to go on fighting. We would find a way to keep up the fight for France and Europe against migration \u2013 stated d\u2019Escufon. She added: the battle would not end there, they would continue.<\/p>\n

The authorities will most definitely continue monitoring the movement, waiting for a chance to find some incriminating evidence in the activist network. But the irony in all of this is that two individuals from the opposing camp haven\u2019t had that much luck with the law. Firstly, an Arab youth who calls himself Acrobate94 \u2013 who attacked the G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire activists together with Antifa and took down the banner \u2013 has been accused of violent crimes. Secondly, Minister of the Interior G\u00e9rald Darmanin himself has gotten mixed up in a similar case. The Minister determined to break up G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire has been accused since 2018 of rape, sexual harassment and abuse of trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article has been published online by the Magyar Nemzet on February 10, 2021. \u201cYouth who oppose immigration and Islamization\u201d \u2013 a characterization of the French G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Identitaire mission, a movement now caught in the crosshairs of the French government. Minister of the Interior, G\u00e9rald Darmanin recently vowed to do everything in his power to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"acf":{"subtitle":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}