As French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is attempting to dissolve the far-right group Generation Identitaire, the initiative may prove to be a dangerous gamble, which could potentially weaken the government of President Emmanuel Macron, instead of strengthening it, especially as the left is not of one mind on the matter while the right marched to the group's defense
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2021) As French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is attempting to dissolve the far-right group Generation Identitaire, the initiative may prove to be a dangerous gamble, which could potentially weaken the government of President Emmanuel Macron, instead of strengthening it, especially as the left is not of one mind on the matter while the right marched to the group's defense.
On Saturday, Darmanin announced that the necessary proceedings had begun and the group, notorious for its opposition to immigration and Islam, had ten days to appeal.
The move is clearly designed to placate the left, which complains about Islamophobia as the government is under pressure from the Right to dissolve Islamist groups that support terrorism. By dissolving both Islamist and far-right groups, the Macron administration is playing at triangulation, trying to win support from both corners.
This is specially important as Macron has a presidential election waiting for him in 2022 and the leader of the right-wing National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, has been running neck-and-neck with him, according to recent polling.
WHO ARE GENERATION IDENTITAIRE?
Despite not being a large movement, Generation Identitaire does not lack in media attention thanks to its public stunts, organized to draw attention to the situation with immigration and islam in the country.
Its first well-known action was the occupation of the roof of the Great Mosque of Poitiers, in construction, with banners with anti-immigration and anti-Islam messages, on October 20, 2012.
In April 2018, the group camped at the French-Italian border, deploying huge banners displaying the message to illegal migrants crossing the border without any control: "Border closed. You will not make Europe your home. Go back home." This led to the arrest of the group's leaders, following demands from Socialist politicians Pierre Henry and Benoit Hamon, however they were eventually released thanks to an appellate court's 2020 decision.
The group demonstrated again on January 19, 2021, this time blocking the Col du Portillon mountain pass, at the border between France and Spain.
Although prone to provocations, the group has eschewed violence so far, and has no connection to Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, while defending the same ideas on uncontrolled immigration.
In late January, Darmanin stated his decision to dissolve the group, unintentionally giving it an incredible boost in popularity.
While such leftists groups as the Socialist Party, Hamon's far-left "Generation.s" party and the France Unbowed party, would like to see Generation Identitaire gone, some on the left have a different opinion.
For example, Guillaume Lacroix, the president of Radical Party of the Left, accused Darmanin of creating "hysteria" and called for a peaceful discussion of the matters such as immigration, while political scientist Jean-Yves Camus, from the center-left think-tank Foundation Jean Jaures, told Le Figaro that radical Islamists were a much more dangerous threat than Generation Identitaire.
"The minister of interior is using the notion of 'militia' or 'armed group' to declare the dissolution but it seems complicated to retain this qualification with regard for example, to their action carried out at the Col de l'Echelle [mountain pass] in the Alps in 2018," Camus said.
While the left is divided on the subject, the right seems to have rallied behind Generation Identitaire.
"The dissolution of #GenerationIdentitaire is not based on any legal reason but a pure question of opinion!" Florian Philippot, the leader of the Patriots party, tweeted.
His sentiment was echoed by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a member of the French lower house and president of the France Arise party.
"I fully support Generation Identitaire in their legal fight. I am very shocked that the Government has closed their Facebook account. Generation Identitaire has never engaged in any violent action. There is no legal basis for closing their account," Dupont-Aignan told Sputnik.
Gilles Lebreton, an EU lawmaker from the National Rally party thinks that Darmanin's attempt to dissolve Generation Identitaire will fail and that the minister is betting on people equating hostility to immigration with racism. The EU lawmaker described this to Sputnik as "ludicrous, especially since the migrants concerned enter France illegally. And Minister of Interior Darmanin is in charge of stopping them."
"I think the talented lawyer of Generation Identitaire will make it into what it is, a political trial, and he will triumph against these empty accusations of 'crime against humanity'. It is simply ludicrous. Whatever happens, this will bring the immigration issue to the forefront of French politics, the opposite of what Darmanin wanted to do," Lebreton added.
If Darmanin loses the dissolution fight, which could very possibly happen, the president of France will lose face and all they will have managed to do, is reinforce the perception among French citizens that some opinions are apparently not wanted.
