A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #375 - Spotlight - Antifascism: On every front, *no pasarán*! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

As the far right seizes state power in an increasing number of Western 
countries, its attacks on the antifascist camp are multiplying and 
diversifying. How can we defend ourselves? And how can we regain lost 
ground? ---- In France, the *Rassemblement National* (RN) has never been 
closer to capturing the Élysée. While this is often the first thing that 
comes to mind when the far right is mentioned-especially with the 
presidential election less than a year away-we must not let it obscure 
the bigger picture: the far right is already in power. This is true 
locally in France (in 74 town halls), nationally in European states like 
Italy or Finland (often, as in these two examples, through "right-wing 
alliance" coalitions), and further afield in the United States, 
Argentina, Chile, Israel, and Japan-a list that is obviously, and 
unfortunately, not exhaustive. The far right has now become a major, 
unavoidable political force in global geopolitics.

This situation is new compared to a few decades ago. Perhaps it is this 
novelty that causes disbelief and denial to prevail so often. In many 
circles, it remains difficult to discuss the consequences and have them 
acknowledged for what they truly are. Yet these consequences are very 
real. For us revolutionaries, the task is to analyze them precisely 
and-urgently-to find ways to spark a mass antifascist mobilization that 
is equally real and yields tangible results. Seizing power provides new 
weapons
Verbal and physical assaults-and even murders-committed by neo-fascist 
activists are nothing new; for previous generations, they likely remain 
the defining image of the far-right threat in France up until the late 
2010s. Often dismissed as isolated incidents-or worse, as mere turf wars 
between opposing far-right and anti-fascist factions-this direct 
violence failed to raise sufficient alarm. The media coverage 
surrounding the deaths of Clément Méric in 2013 and Federico Martín 
Aramburú in 2022 stands as a grim testament to this.

This violence, which must never be downplayed, persists. In Lyon, the 
local headquarters of the *Solidaires* trade union has been targeted 
three times overnight since the February death of neo-Nazi activist 
Quentin Deranque; furthermore, on the sidelines of the August 29 
football match between Olympique Lyonnais and Le Havre, far-right 
hooligans brutally beat several people in racially motivated attacks. 
These two examples are far from exhaustive; indeed, the remainder of 
this article could easily consist of a long list of violent acts 
committed by neo-fascist thugs in 2026, both in Lyon and elsewhere in 
France.

Yet, such violence is no longer the only danger. On the contrary, recent 
months have provided ample evidence of the new weapons now at the far 
right's disposal.

Viktor Orbán's far-right government had long sought the extradition of 
Gino, an Albanian anti-fascist activist who had taken refuge in France. 
In August, the French courts ruled to hand him over to Germany; Gino's 
appeal to the Court of Cassation is currently pending. Also in August, 
the Trump administration decided to designate the Italian activist web 
host Autistici/Inventati an "international terrorist organization," with 
serious consequences for both the host and the internet users who relied 
on its services. The *Union communiste libertaire* issued statements on 
both these developments in early September[1]; they are part of a 
broader trend of criminalizing anti-fascism.
Following an action in 2023 during the "Day of Honor" (an annual 
neo-fascist demonstration in Budapest akin to the C9M event in Paris), 
former Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán and current President Baka are 
calling for the heads of Gino and several other participants.
Credits: UCL Lyon
We should also mention the offensive launched by RN mayors elected or 
re-elected in 2026. In Carcassonne, Christophe Barthès waited only a few 
weeks after his election to attempt to evict the CGT, CFDT, FSU, and 
Solidaires trade unions from the *Bourse du Travail* (Labor Exchange). 
The same mayor also withdrew a municipal grant from the Human Rights 
League (*Ligue des droits de l'Homme*). In Castres, Mayor Florian Azéma 
cut off water and electricity to around a hundred Traveller families. In 
Hénin-Beaumont, Steeve Briois persists in his relentless targeting of 
two SUD *Collectivités territoriales* union members, Fabienne Payen and 
Djelloul Kheris. We also wish to acknowledge the work of the National 
Observatory on the Far Right (Oned), which monitors the actions of RN 
mayors and produces reports made freely available on its website[2].
It is impossible to conclude this list of the far right's new weapons 
without broadening the scope. The imperialist wars unleashed by the US 
far right, along with the genocide in Gaza orchestrated and encouraged 
by the Israeli far right, offer a glimpse of the worst-case scenarios 
should the RN come to power in France.

Street-level attacks do not subside as state repression intensifies; on 
the contrary, recent statistics on "ultra-right" violence show that the 
two trends rise in tandem.

Defending ourselves and fighting back
How should we respond to these increasingly frequent and multifaceted 
attacks? Our first instinct must be class solidarity. We must not 
abandon the organizations or individuals targeted; instead, we must 
support them, donate, bear witness, join legal proceedings as civil 
parties, and so on. In many of the cases mentioned above, this 
solidarity was mobilized in various concrete ways, helping to mitigate 
the damage.

A consistent antifascism is one that seeks to abolish the material 
conditions of fascism and fights capitalism without compromise.
Credits: Photothèque rouge
The far right attempts to divide us by targeting the most vulnerable and 
isolated among us first. Let us never forget Pastor Martin Niemöller's 
famous quote: "When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained 
silent; I was not a communist." If it is not yet our turn, it soon will 
be. Class solidarity protects the most vulnerable-and protects us, too. 
It is in this spirit that UCL activists work to foster 
inter-organizational solidarity against the far right wherever they are 
active. Rivalries between unions, associations, or political parties 
have their place, but in the face of the "brown plague," solidarity must 
always be the answer.

Yet, it is not merely a matter of defense. Through class solidarity, we 
must rediscover the path to a more organic, more confident class 
unity-one capable of launching a genuine anti-fascist counter-offensive. 
A schedule of autonomous struggle, driven by the population's material 
needs rather than electoral gambles, must enable us to wrest social and 
environmental gains from those truly responsible for the state of the 
world: the capitalists. These gains will allow us to dismantle the false 
solutions advocated by the RN, counter its racist scapegoating, and 
ultimately marginalize it-relegating it, along with the rest of the 
global far right, to the dustbin of history.

Léo (UCL Lyon)

Submit

[1]"Freedom for Gino, Zaïd, Maja, and all anti-fascists facing 
prosecution in Europe and the USA!", Union communiste libertaire, 
September 3, 2026. 
https://unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Liberte-pour-Gino-Zaid-Maja-et-tous-tes-les-antifascistes-poursuivi-es-en

[2]RN-led Town Hall Observatories (Oned).

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Antifascisme-Sur-tous-les-terrains-no-pasaran
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