WORLD AT FIVE

French far right flock to Zemmour’s banner as fear of ‘Muslim domination’ grows

Demographers scoff at claims that white, Christian France is facing extinction but many voters are unconvinced, writes Adam Sage

Makeshift migrant camps that have sprung up in Paris and other cities have lent weight to claims by populist politicians that the nation’s heritage is at threat
Makeshift migrant camps that have sprung up in Paris and other cities have lent weight to claims by populist politicians that the nation’s heritage is at threat
CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/GETTY IMAGES
Adam Sage
The Times

Before he walked into a Christchurch mosque in March 2019 to begin a murder spree that left 51 people dead, the white supremacist Brenton Tarrant posted a “manifesto” online that he titled The Great Replacement.

The title was a reference to a theory that has long circled in the French far right, promoted by writers such as Renaud Camus, 75, who in his book, Le Grand Remplacement, argued that his country’s white, Christian-based civilisation was being intentionally replaced by Islamic culture crossing from Africa, in a plot by global capitalists to ensure a ready supply of cheap labour.

It is a theory widely derided as racist, conspiratorialist, baseless and dangerous but, although Camus himself does not advocate violence, his writings have spread around the world