Following the death of a fascist activist in Lyon on February 14th, our social movement remained calm and continued to assert its antifascism despite attempts at co-optation. But faced with the ever-increasing rise of the far right, it is becoming urgent to consider the form this commitment should take.
The uncertainty following Quentin Deranque's death in Lyon was short-lived. It took only a few days to confirm his activism among the most violent and radical fringes of the far right. Investigations even revealed the profile of an individual who had firmly conceptualized his fascist ideas[1], the ultimate refutation of the far right's narrative of a "good Catholic" who was almost there by chance. This journalistic work quickly put an end to the far right's attempts to exploit the situation. It also revealed that the activist's death followed more than two hours of refusing to go to the hospital, a decision reinforced by his "comrades" in a dangerous display of machismo.At the same time, it was reassuring to see that, after some initial hesitation, the entire social movement and the revolutionary left presented a united front and almost unanimously delivered a clear message on the need for an antifascist front, avoiding the pitfall of rejecting all violence, into which the entire parliamentary left has fallen. This was not to advocate violence as a means of action, but to affirm the necessity of defending oneself against the violence of the far right.
On March 14, rallies across France reaffirmed the antifascist roots of the social movement.[Photo: Red Library/Alexandre]
Presenting a united front
In the weeks and months to come, the question of antifascist solidarity will continue to be relevant, especially given the string of arrests in recent days. Whatever the conclusions of the investigations into the sequence of events, and whatever analyses we draw from them, it will be essential, at the very least, to denounce with one voice the media and political treatment of these accused individuals. Treated as guilty by a large part of the media and political parties, they have not benefited from the sacrosanct presumption of innocence, so often invoked in other circumstances. The identities of some of those accused were even publicly revealed by the fascist rag Frontières, likely informed by a police force whose political leanings are well known.
Holding the streets?
But beyond this case, after the calls for unity in antifascism, a question arises: what kind of antifascism are we talking about? Or in other words: what strategy is needed to truly and effectively block the path of the far right?
This resurgence of antifascist rhetoric has had the predictable effect of reviving groups within the Antifascist Action (AFA) movement here and there. Pre-existing the Young Guard whose dissolution now seems more certain than ever these groups share with it the idea of specifically antifascist organizations, generally accompanied by similar practices: monitoring to identify local far-right activists, and more or less martial sports, with the stated objective of "controlling the streets" and ensuring popular self-defense.
One of the most useful historical tasks of these movements has often been monitoring and publishing information and maps of the far right, as the La Horde collective has long done. In recent years, this work has been largely joined by the press: Streetpress, Mediapart, Libération, and more recently Blast and L'Humanité, all devote a significant portion of their resources to investigations into the far right, with the advantage of having access to logistics and personal and legal protection far superior to that afforded by a small political group. This surge in activity and this work are to be welcomed, although it does not entirely replace the fieldwork of activist organizations, which often serves as its source.
Over the years, most of these antifascist groups have concluded that vigilance and self-defense actions are insufficient, and have sought to play a leading role in unified frameworks alongside other organizations, or to put forward alternative political proposals, sometimes revolutionary, sometimes seeking alliances with the reformist left, as the Jeune Garde did by getting Raphaël Arnault elected with the support of LFI[2]. But while numerous groups, often with substantial membership, have emerged in the last ten years AFA Paris-Banlieue in 2012, the Jeune Garde in 2018 in Lyon, and then in several other cities it is clear that their actions alone will not be enough to stem the rise of the far right.
Demonstration of July 14, 1935, Paris, Place de la Bastille.
Wikimedia Commons
Among libertarian communists, it is common to say that they advocate for mass antifascism. The interpretation of this stance often includes a certain critical view of specific antifascist organizations, whose often forceful practices are ill-suited to mass mobilization. They also risk having antifascist work delegated to them, work that should concern the entire social movement. It also seems to us that to combat fascism in the long term, it is essential to oppose it with a substantial societal project, necessarily revolutionary, anticapitalist, and emancipatory.
Do not delegate antifascism!
But above all, this antifascist project must be carried everywhere! If we don't want "siammo tutti antifascisti" to remain just a slogan, we must give it substance everywhere we live, work, and are active. If we refuse to allow antifascism to be confined to a few specific organizations, it is so that we can better integrate it into all aspects of our lives. For, in turn, fascism also tries to infiltrate everywhere, ready to co-opt any movement. We see this in attempts to infiltrate unions, such as last July in Mertzwiller near Strasbourg, where a National Rally (RN) member of parliament was able to speak at a rally against the closure of a factory, or in attempts to co-opt feminist struggles by far-right groups like Némésis.
Within the unions, the Visa association[3]has seen several developments in recent months, documented by Alternative libertaire[4], and constitutes a genuine example of grassroots antifascism integrated into a broader struggle, in this case, the union movement. Within feminist and LGBTQ+ struggles, monitoring is often an integral part of activists' work, while femonationalism and homonationalism[5]are largely co-opted by the far right. As we enter a presidential campaign year that will unfortunately serve as a megaphone for far-right propaganda, we must close ranks and embody a popular and combative antifascism everywhere. To oppose the deadly ideas of the far right with a united front for emancipation and solidarity, let us all be antifascists!
N. Bartosek (UCL Alsace)
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[1]Alexandre Berteau and Marie Turcan, "Quentin Deranque, a traditionalist Catholic in his private life and a neo-Nazi online," Mediapart, March 12, 2026.
[2]On this subject, the article "Antifascism, the State, the Revolutionary Rupture, and Us" details, in this issue, a libertarian communist revolutionary perspective.
[3]Vigilance and antifascist union initiatives.
[4]"Antifascist union collectives are taking root," Alternative libertaire no. 362, Summer 2025.
[5]Femonationalism and homonationalism are concepts referring to the instrumentalization of feminist and LGBTQ+ struggles by the far right, conservatives, or the State.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Face-a-l-extreme-droite-Un-antifascisme-de-masse-et-de-classe
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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