Eurasia Press & News
Anti-racist organiser Denis Godard spoke to Thomas Foster about the wave of fascist violence on the streets, how the political centre has enabled it—and what the left should do
The far right is on the offensive in France. Fascist mobs have rampaged through the streets, sometimes in groups hundreds-strong.
Over 3,000 joined a far right march in Lyon on Saturday, a march where Nazi salutes, racist insults and homophobic chants were on display.
And the fascist National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, is topping opinion polls and looking to make gains in the local elections next month.
Marche Des Solidarites (MDS) organiser Denis Godard told Socialist Worker that much of the left “is on the defensive” after the death of Quentin Deranque (see below).
“All the mainstream media and parties, including part of the left, are attacking the anti-fascists and the LFI as murderers”, he said.
A spokesperson for France’s centrist government attacked the LFI as “encouraging a climate of violence”. She said there is “a moral responsibility on the part of LFI” for the attack.
LFI is the left wing party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon.
The French parliament even held a minute of silence for the fascist activist this week, paying tribute to the death of a neo-Nazi.
French politicians have sometimes talked about a “cordon sanitaire”, where mainstream conservatives refuse to work with fascists.
But, Denis said that “there are many calls for a cordon sanitaire against LFI”.
Politicians and the media have focused heavily on LFI MP Raphael Arnault, who was previously a spokesperson for the anti-fascist collective Jeune Garde—Young Guard.
The Labour-type PS party was part of a New Popular Front alliance with the LFI and others in 2024. It now says it won’t ally with the LFI due to its links with the Young Guard.
Denis said this legitimises the fascist RN. It pushes their idea that “the danger is not the fascists but the left”.
“The RN is swimming in this current. You start from the politics of the mainstream parties against LFI and the left.
“You go to the RN that is arguing strongly against the anti-fascists and then to the street fascists who think they can do anything.”
Denis said the far right “are rejoicing and celebrating the situation”.
“They are not just attacking migrants, which is often seen as the nature of the far right. Now they are doing what they wanted to do for a long time—attack the left.
“This is the core nature of fascism,” Denis said.
He explained that on Wednesday a group came back from a rally organised by fascists. They went into a liberal bar in Toulouse and went on the attack with knives and batons.
He said we should remember that Deranque “was a street fascist involved in street violence for months”.
Deranque was active in the far right group Action Francaise, described by the StreetPress outlet as “one of the main training grounds for far right leaders”.
He had joined the fascist group Allobroges Bourgoin, whose members marched with Nazis on 9 May 2025. Deranque himself was on that march.
Fascist group Luminis, which carries out patrols reserved for white people, described Deranque as “a nationalist activist whose radical commitment far exceeded the role of ‘security agent’ for Nemesis”, a fascist, anti-immigration group.
Denis said there is a “division of labour” between street fascist groups and the RN—but they do coordinate.
The growth of street movements and the electoral far right can feed each other.
“The last time Nemesis organised a press conference, it was at the office of the RN. Many of the parliamentary assistants of RN MPs come from street and student fascist groups,” Denis explained.
“There are especially connections between the RN Youth and street fascists.
“In Lyon, on the evening after the fight, the Nemesis group met in a bar to rejoice, while their comrade was dying, with a figure of the RN Youth.
“In Paris, there was a rally against anti-fascists and in memory of the fascist last weekend, organised by street fascists like Nemesis and there were RN MPs present.
“Sometimes the RN can distance itself from the groups when it wants, but in reality it has a lot of connections.”
But Denis argued that the “division of labour” can also mean “internal contradictions” emerge among the right.
“If we are not pushing against them, they can overcome the contradictions,” he said.
But “if there is a big enough movement, the RN will have to disassociate partly from the street fascists.
“The street fascists will also have to argue against the RN because they will say it is too moderate.
“If you push, you can develop the contradictions between the different currents. But only if you push.”
The far right has been emboldened by the racism of the government.
“Mainstream figures call migrants terrorists and delinquents and call Muslims dangerous,” Denis explained.
“This is becoming common language for leading parties and newspapers.
“The government’s politics is becoming more and more racist.”
It is in this context that polls report that the RN would win the next parliamentary election or the presidential election set to take place in April 2027. The next test is the local elections in March.
Denis said if the RN does well, it will become harder to argue against them.
“It is a question of legitimacy,” he argued.
“We say that we want to chase them from our local neighbourhoods and people say it is democracy so you have to accept them.
“It gives confidence to their supporters and hardline fascists, making them think their position is supported by the ‘real’ French people.
“The legitimacy of racist policies is rising with every victory of the RN.”
That legitimacy means the RN can fund racist and reactionary organisations.
“It uses resources to improve all social and political media, and organisations, connected to its ideas.”
Denis said it then “attacks the left using the legal and political positions” its members hold.
The RN could win the council in Marseille, France’s second biggest city. It would be a breakthrough.
It is typically strong in small cities but not the larger cities. It could possibly win a majority in Nice too.
Denis said the anti-racist movement should respond to these challenges through mobilisation.
“We still think that there are more people who are against racism and against fascism than those supporting racism and fascism.
“So the question is making it visible through demonstrations in the streets and organisation in the local area and trade unions,” Denis said.
“It is necessary to fight fascism before Lyon and it is necessary after Lyon.
“They are on the offensive—it is even more urgent now.
“The main currents of the left are saying ‘don’t move’, ‘don’t say anything’, ‘just wait for better times’.”
Denis explained the initial response to the fascist attacks was limited as “there was no cohesion at all” within the left.
But MDS is organising a mass mobilisation against racism and fascism, with protests across France, on 14 March.
“The fascists are going to use the local elections to build roots locally. We need to build to push locally everywhere in some way to block them.
“One of the best ways to build anti-racism is in the workplaces and local communities. So we are using the question of local elections to build this local organisation, solidarity and resistance.”
LFI has said it will support and participate in the demonstrations on 14 March. And MDS is building alliances with other organisations.
“The nature of MDS is not an organisation,” Denis explained, “but coordinating and organising some committees, while supported by trade unions and other organisations.”
In Paris, there are committees of undocumented migrants, which can number up to 1,000 people.
“If they fight to mobilise they can mobilise thousands of people—they are the base of MDS,” Denis said.
“Those who led the MDS banner on marches are from undocumented migrant committees.
“When we decide who is going to speak, they are the first to speak.”
The Block Everything movement saw huge strikes and protests last year. The current anti-racism movement must build on that.
“The organisations we are now targeting are the trade unions,” Denis said. “The most important thing is that we need unity, but not unity without content.
“We want to use 14 March to have a reaction against what has happened since Lyon. We can turn the tide.”
Attacks on trade union and left wing LFI party offices
Mainstream and far right politicians are painting the left as violent after the death of a far right activist.
Quentin Deranque died as a result of injuries sustained in a fascist attack on a meeting in Lyon addressed by Rima Hassan. Rima is a member of the European parliament for the left wing LFI party, led by Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Fascists have targeted the offices of the LFI in Paris, Lille, Castres, Bordeaux, Toulouse and elsewhere. There was a bomb threat against its national headquarters.
Far right organisations held tributes to Deranque in several cities.
In Paris, elected officials from the fascist National Rally (RN) attended one of these tributes. Dozens then walked through a left wing neighbourhood with Nazi signs.
Far right group Les Natifs posted a video of its activists throwing fake blood on the LFI headquarters and putting up posters attacking “Antifa” and Melenchon.
On 12 February, a handful of activists from the fascist group Nemesis mobilised to disrupt the conference where Rima was speaking.
Students confronted the far right, chanting anti-fascist slogans.
Nemesis leader Alice Cordier said that the group had organised a security team to “intervene” if the group was confronted by
anti-fascists.
She claimed this security team was “lynched by an armed militia”, and blamed the anti-fascist group Jeune Garde—Young Guard—which was dissolved last June.
But her account is contested. An anti-fascist student told the Mediapart newspaper that a group of fascists “jumped on them” as they were leaving.
Videos of the attack appear to show the Nemesis “security group” launching the first projectiles and assaults.
There was a confrontation and other footage has circulated online of a group of individuals violently beating three men.
One of the security guards, Deranque, was taken to hospital and died from a severe brain injury on 14 February.
