In a massive crackdown on patriotic activists working to halt mass immigration to France, 12 arrests have been made of former Generation Identity members for “reforming” an illegal group under the name Argos. The French Interior Ministry indicated that four more individuals were being sought by police.
As Remix News has documented, the Generation Identity organization was banned in 2021 by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin after it staged several peaceful and legal demonstrations against the government’s pro-migration stance. In a series of interviews, a number of the activists involved in the organization spoke to Remix News about the ban, the legal consequences, and the repression of their right to protest.
However, some of these activists created a new group known as Argos, which has been involved in several prominent protests. Now, Darmanin is targeting the new group, with the Paris prosecutor’s office indicating the Argos members are being charged with pursuing the “offense of maintaining a dissolved organization.”
The group says it defends the interests of the French
For instance, last year, after French woman Mégane was brutally raped by a migrant, Oumar Ndiaye, the group became active in protesting on her behalf.
Ndiaye’s 29-year-old victim was raped with a 29-inch-long broomstick, with the injuries so terrible that she was placed in an artificial coma for over a month after the attack. The rape was described as an “act of torture” that left hospital staff in tears.
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Her father was not shy either about what he thought about the political class of France, saying: “(The government) not communicating about this attack gives credit to all these sexual predators and other parasites of society who plague the streets. A wake-up call to the government about the fact that we leave this kind of individual, with a heavy criminal past, in complete freedom, would be welcome. ‘Trust in justice,’ we were told… We only want that,” he said.
According to the father, the ruling political class of France ignored the case, which is when Argos stepped in and staged street protests on behalf of the woman and her family. However, Remix News already reported at the time that six members of Argos involved in those protests, faced criminal prosecution and potential sentences of up to five years in prison for their participation.
At the time, the group released a statement, writing: “Argos supports Mégane and her family as she comes out of a coma. Savagely attacked and raped by Oumar N. last August, Mégane finally came out of the coma today but remains in a fragile state. The Argos activists therefore went to the hospital in Cherbourg where she is being treated in order to show her our support. A donation was also made via a fund set up recently.”
The group has also been active in protesting on behalf of Thomas, who was brutally stabbed to death by a gang of migrants earlier this year. After the murder, the group wrote on X.
“Thomas’ death is not trivial, you are not safe anywhere. Even the countryside is affected. Shelters do not exist: The only solution is self-defense. Share this call: It’s time to join your family,” wrote the organization.
Argos, like Generation Identity, partook in street demonstrations, often deploying banners and smoke bombs. It also organized mixed martial arts retreats; however, the group itself promoted non-violence and only organized such events for self-defense and team building. However, despite its actions being non-violent, Darmanin justified his decision to ban Generation Identity because it can “be considered as presenting the character of a private militia.”
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Some Generation Identity activists splintered into a number of different organizations after the ban, others got into politics, and some simply took a step back from political activism. However, Argos is notable due to its size and the fact that it promoted its actions successfully on social media, was well organized, and had national reach.
The group was actively recruiting French citizens and partaking in street actions, which it posted on platforms like X.
