France to ban Catholic group over 'legitimising violence'
France's Interior Minister has announced that he intends to ban a traditionalist Catholic group over what he says is its far-right ideology and justification of violence.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced that he intends to seek a ban on the traditionalist Catholic group Academia Christian, saying on Sunday: "We will present their dissolution to the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks."
The interior minister has the power to ban groups that are considered extreme - it's more usually used against radical Islamist movements but in recent weeks several extreme-right groups links to violence in Romans-sur-Isère have also been added to the banned list.
An interior ministry source quoted in Le Parisien said: "Under the pretext of an alleged threat to the French this group recurrently legitimises physical violence and the use of weapons.
"It uses a warlike vocabulary and explicitly encourages its activists to arm themselves and go on a crusade."
Academia Christiana was founded in 2013 by young people close to the identitarian movement, it describes itself as a Catholic "spiritual, moral, intellectual and sporting" training institute.
It is chaired by Victor Aubert, who teaches French and philosophy at the Institut Croix des Vents in Sées, a private school run by the Fraternité sacerdotale Saint-Pierre, a traditionalist institute recognised by the Vatican.
Reacting to Darmanin's announcement, it said: "By wanting to dissolve us, the government is once again attacking Catholics, whom it considers to be second-class citizens.
"At a time when stabbings are rife morning, noon and night, the Republic's priority is to dissolve a training institute whose staff are all honest fathers and mothers."
There appears to be little to back up the group's assertion that stabbings are "rife morning, noon and night" in France - overall trends show that rates of violent crime are stable, while France's homicide rate is close to the EU average and four times lower than the USA.
ANALYSIS Is crime really 'spiralling' in France?
The group received support after the announcement from the extreme right politician Eric Zemmour, and announced that it would appeal against the dissolution at the Conseil d'Etat.
Darmanin added that "at least three other ultra-right-wing groups" were the target of intelligence services, without providing details.
Comments
See Also
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced that he intends to seek a ban on the traditionalist Catholic group Academia Christian, saying on Sunday: "We will present their dissolution to the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks."
The interior minister has the power to ban groups that are considered extreme - it's more usually used against radical Islamist movements but in recent weeks several extreme-right groups links to violence in Romans-sur-Isère have also been added to the banned list.
An interior ministry source quoted in Le Parisien said: "Under the pretext of an alleged threat to the French this group recurrently legitimises physical violence and the use of weapons.
"It uses a warlike vocabulary and explicitly encourages its activists to arm themselves and go on a crusade."
Academia Christiana was founded in 2013 by young people close to the identitarian movement, it describes itself as a Catholic "spiritual, moral, intellectual and sporting" training institute.
It is chaired by Victor Aubert, who teaches French and philosophy at the Institut Croix des Vents in Sées, a private school run by the Fraternité sacerdotale Saint-Pierre, a traditionalist institute recognised by the Vatican.
Reacting to Darmanin's announcement, it said: "By wanting to dissolve us, the government is once again attacking Catholics, whom it considers to be second-class citizens.
"At a time when stabbings are rife morning, noon and night, the Republic's priority is to dissolve a training institute whose staff are all honest fathers and mothers."
There appears to be little to back up the group's assertion that stabbings are "rife morning, noon and night" in France - overall trends show that rates of violent crime are stable, while France's homicide rate is close to the EU average and four times lower than the USA.
ANALYSIS Is crime really 'spiralling' in France?
The group received support after the announcement from the extreme right politician Eric Zemmour, and announced that it would appeal against the dissolution at the Conseil d'Etat.
Darmanin added that "at least three other ultra-right-wing groups" were the target of intelligence services, without providing details.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.