“I asked my services to instruct the dissolution of Civitas”. On Monday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on X (formerly Twitter) the dissolution of the fundamentalist Christian movement Civitas. The announcement of this administrative procedure against the small far-right political party follows anti-Semitic remarks by the very controversial essayist Pierre Hillard during the party’s summer school. 20 minutes returns to the reasons for this dissolution.
A fundamentalist Catholic political party
“God – Fatherland – Family”. The tone is set. Founded in 1999 by militants close to the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, Civitas officially became a political party in 2016. “Civitas is a small group which advocates the submission of civil law to the doctrine of the Church before the Vatican Council II”, explains to 20 minutes Jean-Yves Camus, Co-director of the Observatory of Political Radicalities and researcher attached to IRIS (Institute of International and Strategic Relations). “It is the only movement in France to demand the end of the separation of religions and the State, therefore the repeal of the laws of 1905”, underlines the expert. “It is a fundamentalist Catholic organization, with a companionship with the most classic and radical far right”, told AFP on Tuesday the specialist in online extremism Tristan Mendès-France.
In line with far-right reactionary movements, Civitas leads an intense fight in favor of a nationalist Catholic society and fights in particular against immigration and the LGBTQIA + cause. These activists have also recently distinguished themselves by preventing the holding of a concert by singer Bilal Hassani in a church that has been desecrated for five hundred years.
“The family is today the first and favorite target on which the Freemason state is obsessed with the aim of destroying it”, they write in their program. On its website subtitled “for a Catholic city”, the party calls for the repeal of the Taubira law, which it describes as “homofolie”, but also of the Veil law, affirming that “abortion does not is not a right but a crime against humanity.
conspiracy theories
Beyond these reactionary fights, the members of Civitas defend conspiracy theories, such as that of the “new world order”. A bit like the QAnon, “they defend an interpretation of world events that is based on belief in satan. In their summer university, it was indeed a question of a new world order. For them, all the “forces” that are agitating to create this new world order, in which there would be only one government on the scale of the planet, are not simply political forces. , these are forces led by the devil,” says Jean-Yves Camus.
The same for the Covid-19, which would be according to Civitas, “a fake pandemic organized by the globalists to be able to progress further in this plan” of new world order, says the expert in political radicalism.
Remarks with anti-Semitic overtones
At the Civitas summer university, “the Summer University of the Real Country” which was held in Mayenne from July 29 to 31, Pierre Hillard, controversial author of conspiracy books, defended a forfeiture of the French of Jewish faith. “Before 1789, a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist etc. could not become French. For what ? Because they were heretics,” launches the essayist. « The naturalization of the Jews in September 1791 opens the door to immigration […] Perhaps we should return to the situation before 1789”, defends Pierre Hillard. Known for rubbing shoulders with the circles close to the far-right essayist Alain Soral, as we learn in his file Conspiracy watchPierre Hillard enjoys “an excellent reputation” in these circles, one can read on the neo-Nazi website Blanche Europe.
A small group in the sights of the Minister of the Interior
Following these anti-Semitic remarks, the Minister of the Interior immediately reacted: “Anti-Semitism has no place in our country. I strongly condemn these ignominious remarks and seize the Public Prosecutor. In addition, I asked my services to instruct the dissolution of Civitas”.
This small group, also Petainist and half-word anti-Semitic, led by a certain Alain Escada, a Belgian far-right activist, does not respect the very foundations of the Republic, according to Jean-Yves Camus. Indeed, the values defended by Civitas go against the first article of the 1958 constitution which declares that “France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It ensures equality before the law of all citizens without distinction of origin, race or religion. She respects all beliefs “. However, as the expert at 20 minutesarticle L212-1 of the internal security code provides for the dissolution of groups “which either provoke or contribute by their actions to discrimination, hatred or violence”.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior had already had Civitas in its sights for several months, and is compiling overwhelming evidence in favor of this dissolution, tells AFP a source familiar with the matter. Contacted this Tuesday by the editorial staff of 20 minutesPierre Hillard and Alain Escada did not respond to our interview requests.