France and the far right

On a new episode of The Take, Al Jazeera journalists discuss Generation Identity and its connection to Marine Le Pen’s National Front.

Generation Identity

A far-right group in France is pushing for the expulsion of the nation’s non-European immigrants, specifically those of Muslim or Arab descent. The group, Generation Identity (GI), describes itself as a youth identitarian movement. It has chapters in Austria, Italy Germany and the UK.

GI activists claim France’s true identity is white and Christian. They have attempted to occupy mosques, block migrant and refugee entry at the nation’s borders, and have been seen using the Nazi salute and attacking Muslims and Arabs in public.

“Its influence is growing, their membership is growing fast,” says David Harrison, senior investigative journalist at Al Jazeera. “They’ve staged various sorts of high-level publicity stunts, so they’re getting headlines. And for the elections last year they produced a 30-page document in which they outlined their key policies. At the heart of this was what they call ‘remigration’, which is this idea to send back immigrants to their countries or the countries of their ancestors.”

In a new investigation titled Generation Hate, Al Jazeera embeds a journalist with GI in an effort to expose the links between the group, and one of France’s major political parties, Marine Le Pen’s National Front, which has since been renamed the National Rally. The first part of the series was released last week, and the second part will air on Sunday.

In a new episode of The Take, host Imtiaz Tyab speaks to Harrison about the investigation and the far-right influence in France.

Watch the first part of the investigation:

Learn more on Generation Identity: 

How the violent far right infiltrated France’s National Front

What lies beneath the surface of France’s Generation Identity?

Who’s Who at Generation Identity

More on the far right

The Team:

This episode was produced by Imtiaz Tyab, Morgan Waters and Kyana Moghadam, with help from Jasmin Bauomy. The show’s lead producer is Graelyn Brashear. The sound designer is Meradith Hoddinott.

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Source: Al Jazeera