POURQUOI ÊTRE ANTIFASCISTE EST UN DEVOIR

The political landscape is undergoing a profound transformation where values that were once intolerable have become daily occurrences. We are witnessing a "tipping point" every week, characterized by a total inversion of values. In this new reality, fascists are rebranded as "moderates," while anti-fascists are cast as public dangers, ignoring decades of historical evidence. This shift isn't merely a return to the 1930s, but it carries haunting echoes of that era. Today’s political actors believe they can control the coming disaster by pulling worn-out strings, yet the traditional right wing is entering a state of moral bankruptcy by aligning with the far-right for the sake of political calculation. The primary victory of this movement is the annexation of vocabulary. Concepts and obsessions once confined to the fringes have infused society at large, with even opponents adopting the far-right’s lexicon. Through a process of "victimization," the far-right has successfully flipped the script: those who once stood as a "cordon sanitaire" against extremism are now labeled the new fascists. The modern far-right has traded black shirts for ties, presenting a respectable face that no longer threatens the interests of the bourgeoisie. They have adopted the slogan "rather Hitler than the Popular Front," updated for the modern age with the same recklessness. A central case study in this metamorphosis is the rise of Giorgia Meloni and her "clan of gulls." This movement represents the evolution of a far-right micro-group into a consensual, "pop" political force. Their danger lies not in their folklore or nostalgia for antiquity, but in their ability to appear reassuring. While young militants once met clandestinely in Roman ruins, fueled by anti-Americanism and a sense of "Western decline," they have since learned to reinvent their image. To break the "cultural glass ceiling," these groups have abandoned radioactive fascist references in favor of popular culture. They have appropriated works like *The NeverEnding Story*, *Dead Poets Society*, and most notably, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. In a staggering inversion of roles, they frame themselves as "Hobbits" fighting against the forces of evil. This provides them with a "heroic alibi" that lacks the toxic connotations of figures like Richard Wagner or Mussolini. By changing their acronyms and symbols, they rely on collective amnesia. They no longer define themselves as fascists; they present themselves as brave notables, indistinguishable from conservative bourgeois politicians. However, the transcript argues that this is a "Trojan Horse" strategy. While Meloni—rebranded as the relatable "Giorgia"—presents a facade of pragmatic, serious governance and supports mainstream positions on Ukraine and the economy, she is simultaneously dismantling freedoms. Her first governmental act was the repression of rave parties, followed by decrees targeting squatters, climate activists, and protesters. This "iron fist in a velvet glove" approach slowly narrows the field of liberty, using "states of emergency" to muzzle media and repress dissent. The far-right’s rhetoric relies on a "grand deception." They present themselves as the "humiliated" victims of a "woke" system or a corrupt elite, even when they hold the levers of power. In Italy, they control public and private television, the press, and regional governments. Their strategy involves a strict dichotomy: when cameras are on, they maintain a respectable image; when cameras are off, the "off-camera" reality of fascist songs and salutes returns. They use "dog whistles" and slips of the tongue to signal to their base while maintaining plausible deniability for the public. This ideological shift has real-world, violent consequences. The transcript lists a harrowing series of murders and attacks committed by far-right militants across Europe since 2022, fueled by "pathological hatred of foreigners." Despite these tragedies, victims of far-right violence rarely receive official recognition, such as a minute of silence in the National Assembly, highlighting a systemic double standard. Historical parallels are drawn with the rise of the Golden Dawn in Greece. Fascism is described as a "crisis phenomenon" that redirects the anger of the people. Instead of targeting the powerful—such as the technocrats and bankers who drive austerity—the anger is redirected downward toward the most vulnerable: migrants, the undocumented, and the marginalized. The far-right becomes an objective ally of the system by providing easy scapegoats, ensuring the root causes of societal collapse are never addressed. The conclusion is a call to resistance. The transcript argues that the "police will not protect us" from this violence, as law enforcement often ends up protecting neo-Nazi marches while brutalizing those who oppose them. The rise of these movements is not inexorable; it is "highly resistible." Their victory is made possible only by the "capitulation and cowardice" of those who should oppose them. Fascism does not triumph because its ideas are superior, but because it no longer meets systematic adversity. To resist, one must refuse to concede the narrative, refuse to be "docilely colonized" by hostile rhetoric, and recognize that the "vampire" of fascism only grows when it is not confronted directly. In a world where the "Overton Window" is wide open, the choice to be "anti-fascist" is presented as a moral necessity to prevent the "noise of boots and truncheons" from silencing everything beautiful in society.