The Radical Right movement Génération Identitaire (GI) was banned by the French government on 3 March. Although the decision will be challenged in courts, it is very unlikely that it will be overturned, thus forcing the 800 to 1,000-members group to find new legal means to continue without facing criminal charges.
Curious about the future of the movement, I met with Clément Martin, one of GI’s former spokespeople, a day after the ban. Martin is in his late 20s, from the city of Nice. He jokes about “having grown white hair” and “belonging to a generation that has been hanging around with the movement for a decade,” saying it is time for younger members to get more responsibility.
But he confirmed that the core GI membership, himself included, had no intention of giving up the fight. The ban, he said, means that the group “will have to focus on online activism for a while”.
