Shortly after the fascist demonstration in Rome
Hundreds of right-wing extremists parade through Paris with torches
January 14, 2024, 10:38 a.m
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Just a week ago, hundreds of people in Rome gave the fascist salute at a meeting. Now there is a similar scene in Paris. More than 500 right-wing extremists parade through the streets of the French capital with torches.
In the French capital Paris, more than 500 right-wing extremists took to the streets in a torchlight march on Saturday evening. Around 300 counter-demonstrators responded to a call from an anti-fascist group, the Paris police said. Both groups gathered in the same part of town but at some distance from each other. The meetings were accompanied by police officers.
As every year, the identitarian group Paris Fierté called for a torchlight march to honor Paris’ patron saint Geneviève. The Paris police prefecture initially banned the gathering. She justified this with the risk of disrupting public order and referred, among other things, to “the international environment and the current tensions in France.”
However, the Paris administrative court lifted the ban on demonstrations. The anti-fascist counter-demonstration was initially banned by the police prefecture, but was then permitted by the judiciary.
Hundreds of fascists in Rome too
Just a week ago, videos from a neo-fascist gathering in Rome caused a stir: hundreds of people stretched their right arms in the air and gave the fascist salute at the event in the Italian capital. The gesture is known in Italy as “saluto romano”, a Roman greeting. Although it is banned in Italy, it is often shown at neo-fascist meetings.
People gathered on the anniversary of the so-called Acca Larentia murders. Left-wing terrorists shot two young neo-fascists on Via Acca Larentia on January 7, 1978, and a third died later. Since then, commemorations have been held annually in front of the former headquarters of the neo-fascist Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI), a movement founded by fascists and Mussolini loyalists.
The videos show how people, mostly dressed in black, responded to the call “For all fallen comrades” with a shout of “Presente!” (in German: present) answer and raise their right arms in the air in the fascist salute. After three repetitions of the greeting, the group disperses. A few hours earlier, an official memorial event with the President of the Lazio region, Francesco Rocca, had taken place at the same location. The incident sparked widespread outrage among left-wing groups and the opposition.