On May 1st in Nice, a double deception is taking place. The first is by Marine Le Pen, who tries to present the National Front (FN) as a republican party but reveals its true nature by inviting European far-right parties that are publicly nostalgic for fascism.
The second deception comes from Christian Estrosi, who self-proclaims as an opponent of the far-right but is implementing a policy in Nice reflecting the values of the National Front (FN).
The first deception is committed by Marine Le Pen. Since taking the helm of the National Front, she has tried to make people believe that it is a respectable and republican party. She systematically denies that it is an extreme-right political organization. However, Marine Le Pen reveals the true nature of the FN by inviting, in Nice, the leaders of European far-right parties, some of whom are openly neo-fascist, nostalgic for the Third Reich, publicly make racist statements, and have been condemned by the judiciary.
The National Front gathering on May 1st is led by Philippe Vardon, founder of the now-defunct Bloc Identitaire. The Identitaires is a radical ultra-right movement, which Jean-Marie Le Pen kept at a distance for a long time, promoting the theories of Renaud Camus like the “great replacement.” It is nothing less than a coordination of various European far-right splinter groups until now disparate and unstructured. Generation Identitaire, through its “Defend Europe” project, organizes campaigns in the Mediterranean or at the Col de l’Échelle to stop migrants. If this operation is not declared illegal and thwarted, it will eventually lead to a tragedy.
The normalization of the FN is a charade. We refuse to let the city of Nice become the meeting point for European extreme-right. We will not allow Nice to become the point of convergence for hatreds.
David Nakache, president of the association Tous Citoyens.
