This week, the French government announced plans to ban one of the prominent ANTIFA groups in the country amid allegations of violence against political opponents.
Home Minister Bruno Reciro stated on Tuesday that a dissolution process has started for the Lyon-based La Joe-Guard antifascist group.
“This represents a chance for young security guards to assert themselves. It’s an opportunity we’re providing. I hope this will resolve things and lead to their disbandment,” he mentioned, according to Le Figaro.
The group emerged in 2018 as a response to the increasing activity of far-right groups, according to claims from the far-left faction.
The Antifa Cell has been active in various protests, notably against the Macron administration’s controversial decision to raise the pension age without parliamentary approval in 2023.
Raphaël Arnault, the group’s founder and spokesperson, was controversially elected to Parliament for the La France Insoumise (LFI) Party last year. He asserted that the government’s actions aim to suppress left-wing activism following the recent murder of a Muslim man, who was reportedly of Bosnian descent.
Arnault described the young security guards as “a crucial anti-fascist force for this time, and the far right fully recognizes this and wants to eliminate us.”
He has faced accusations of involvement in alleged anti-fascist violence on the streets, including assaults on right-wing activists.
Reports suggest that Arnault’s extreme leftist political ties led the French internal intelligence agency to create a file on him, marking him as a potential national security threat and placing him on a watch list similar to those for suspected terrorists.
Despite this, both left and right factions supported his candidacy, even after news of his watch list status emerged, and he now represents Vikleuse in the French Parliament.
LFI leader and former presidential candidate Jean Luc Mélenchon criticized the efforts to ban the Antifa Collective.
“Bruno Reciro’s announcement to dissolve the La Joe Garde anti-fascist organization raises questions. What’s the reason? These young individuals stand against fascism, and I support them,” he stated.
