The French government has banned ‘Generation Identitaire’, a far-right group which had declared a ‘war on migrants’ and repeatedly tried to prevent people from entering the country, for discrimination and hatred.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that Generation Identitaire had been outlawed following a cabinet meeting with the French president. Darmanin said the group “incites discrimination, hatred and violence” and had no place in France.
“With this decision we put an end to the sometimes-violent activities of a group which had for a very long time cut ties with the Republic,” he said, adding that the group is also organized like a private militia, which further violates French law.
On February 13, the interior minister announced that preparations were being made to outlaw the organization after it launched a renewed push against migrants in France.
In early 2021, Generation Identitaire claimed it was running an anti-migrant operation and conducting its own border patrols in the Pyrenees mountains that separate France and Spain. In late January, 30 of the group’s activists traveled to the French border with cars bearing the message “Defend Europe” and deployed drones to enhance their visibility across the frontier.
Generation Identitaire first came to prominence in 2012 by posting an online video declaring a war against migrants. The following month, its activists occupied the roof of an uncompleted mosque and displayed anti-migrant banners. The group also received two donations from Breton Tarrant, a right-wing terrorist who killed 51 people in attacks on two New Zealand mosques in 2019.
Last month United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the increasing threat “extremist movements” pose in the world today.
“White supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are more than domestic terror threats. They are becoming a transnational threat,” Guterres told the UN Human Rights Council.
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