“The great replacement”: the French theory which appeals to the world far right

“Account suspended”. Two words in bold that adorn the profile of Renaud Camus’ Twitter account, blocking his access to the platform he used to participate in political debates and advance his convictions. If his international fame is far from equaling that of his namesake, the writer Albert Camus, his theory has nevertheless been around the world.

It was in his book “Le Grand Ronnement”, published in 2011, that he coined this expression, which has since become a rallying cry for the far right around the world. If he refuses to admit that his comments incite hatred or violence, the social network Twitter has ruled otherwise by suspending his account at the end of October. Less than a week later, on November 4, Renaud Camus was tried for the second time in southwestern France for inciting racial hatred after posting offensive comments on Twitter in 2019.

He appealed the verdict against him in January 2020 and the court’s decision will be announced on January 20, 2022. For now, his two-month prison sentence has been suspended.

Renaud Camus “did not invent anything”

Rooted in racist nationalism, the Great Replacement Theory attributes to a small elite a plot against the French and white Europeans, aimed at eventually replacing them with non-Europeans from Africa and the Middle East, the majority of whom are Muslims. Renaud Camus often speaks of “genocide by substitution”.

Notions of this theory date back to 1900, when the father of French nationalism Maurice Barrès speaks of a new population that would take power, triumph and “ruin our homeland”.

In an article in the daily Le Journal, he wrote: “The name of France could well survive; the special character of our country would however be destroyed, and the people installed in our name and on our territory, would move towards destiny. contradictory with the destinies and needs of our land and our dead. “

At the time when Maurice Barrès wrote, “anti-Semitism was extremely common”, explains Aurelien Mondon, researcher and lecturer in politics at the University of Bath, in the south-west of England, contacted by France 24. “Barrès spoke of the idea of ​​racial purity”, he analyzes, which explains why the population replacement theory became so popular among the Nazis, for example.

After World War II, the French far right had to reinvent its rhetoric to make a comeback. Shifting away from biological racism in favor of cultural racism, replacement theory gained ground in the 1970s and 1980s.

“The New Right and certain French intellectuals were trying to find ways out of marginality,” explains Aurélien Mondon. Over the years, these ideas spread within the far right, which was becoming more and more common in France, ultimately paving the way for Renaud Camus to publish his book on the subject without being seen as too radical.

“Renaud Camus did not invent anything”, explains the researcher. “He gathered concepts and coined the phrase, but his theory fits into a much larger context that has helped reshape the far right [en France]. “

Dodging the charge of racism

The Great Replacement Theory caught on around the world, becoming very popular among identity movements in Europe and within the “alt-right”, the American alternative right. For Aurélien Mondon, this was made possible by the way the far right has adapted its position on racism. Rather than talking about racial or ethnic hierarchies, the discourse focuses more on cultures and cultural power.

In a recent interview with the far-right-wing CNews television station, Renaud Camus said his theory was not about race, but about the defense of civilization. “Racism is still taboo in our societies,” explains Aurélien Mondon. “No one wants to admit that he is a racist and no one wants to be called a racist.”

“The people who watch this interview and who will succumb to this panic, to this idea that they will be replaced ethnographically, do not want to be called racists and will say that they are defending civilization,” he continues. . “This approach offers them respectability while conveying racist prejudices, and protecting their own privileges”, analyzes the lecturer.

Unnatural alliances

Renaud Camus also sided with Éric Zemmour, the far-right columnist who was expected to be a potential candidate for the next French presidential election. A fair return of things since Eric Zemmour himself was inspired by Renaud Camus and propagated the theory of the great replacement in several of his own books.

However, while Eric Zemmour makes openly homophobic statements, Renaud Camus had become in the 1970s a gay icon by claiming his homosexuality. He wrote for the French LGBT + weekly Gai Pied as a columnist and published an autobiographical novel in 1979 titled “Tricks” – the detailed account of his one-night stands in nightclubs and dingy apartments in France. Europe and the United States.

According to Aurélien Mondon, this unnatural alliance is essential to understand how theories like the Great Replacement have spread so easily. “People on the far right feed on contradictions. Convinced anti-Semites can ally themselves with Jewish people, because they share the same Islamophobia and they deem this cause superior. By the same logic, people deeply anti-Semites or Islamophobes sometimes ally themselves with Muslim people out of hatred of the Jew. “

For the far right, the nonconformist is a strength, not a weakness. “This shows that they are ready to overcome these contradictions to win on the racialist agenda,” explains researcher Aurélien Mondon. “That’s the point of the game for them.”

According to INSEE statistics, the immigrant population living in France was 6.8 million in 2020, or 10.2% of the total population.

Article translated by David Rich – To read the article in its original version, click here