Identity England in Paris

On Saturday, 7 January 2023, activists from Identity England joined hundreds of French patriots and Identitarians for the 19^th annual rally to commemorate St. Geneviève, patron saint of Paris. This 5th Century saint was the daughter of Gallo-Roman and Greek parents, and her piety was said to be responsible for saving Paris from Attila the Hun. For the European Identitarian Movement, St. Geneviève symbolises a shared European heritage, and a determination not to retreat in the face of all the odds.  However, for the WEF globalist government of Macron, commemorating St. Geneviève is an outrage against the ideology of multi-culturalism. Consequently, Gérald Darmanin, the French Interior Minister (Home Secretary) banned the rally the day before it was due to be held. Darmanin claimed that the St. Geneviève event would aggravate Kurds who were also rallying on the Saturday. Yet the Kurds’ event was scheduled for 10.00am on the other side of Paris, while the St. Geneviève rally was scheduled for 6.00pm. What mattered for Darmanin was prioritising the rights of Kurds, not those of the French. Despite the ban, and a large police presence, activists gathered for the rally, and at the last moment, an appeal against Darmanin’s diktat was upheld, and the rally went ahead.

The Identity England activists met up with Identitarians from Germany, Belgium, and Italy, joining hundreds on the Pont de la Tournelle, just up-river from the cathedral of Notre Dame, now surrounded by cranes and shrouded in awnings. The terrible fire of 2019 still awaits a plausible explanation, but in a country where attacks on churches are frequent, it is not difficult to imagine which group might want to destroy such a famous symbol of France and Europe.

The rally headed off, led by young French women carrying a banner declaring, ‘March of Parisian Pride. Homage to St. Geneviève’. Banners representing the coats of arms of the city’s 20 arrondissements (districts), and the red and blue flag of Paris, were illuminated by burning torches. Music and shouts of ‘Paris, Identitarian’ brought people to windows and balconies along the route to the hill on which stands the church of St. Genevieve and the Pantheon, originally constructed in memory of the saint. On the steps of the church, speakers defied the globalist government of Macron, celebrated the long history and traditions of France, and called upon all Europeans to honour their forebears, and defend their homelands. This is the task of the European Identitarian Movement, and Identity England is committed to that struggle.