The Great Replacement conspiracy theory

The great replacement (French: le grand remplacement) is a far-right conspiracy theory,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] which states that the white Catholic French population, and white Christian European population at large,[9] is being systematically replaced with non-European people,[7] specifically Middle Eastern, North and Sub-Saharan African populations,[5] through mass migration and demographic growth. It associates the presence of Muslims in France with potential danger and destruction of French culture and civilization.[10]

The conspiracy theory commonly apportions blame to a global and liberal elite,[9] such as Brussels and the European Union, which is portrayed as directing a planned and deliberate plot or scheme to carry out the replacement of European peoples.[6]

The theory has been popularized by Renaud Camus. This notion of replacement, or of white genocide, has echoed throughout the rhetoric of many anti-migrant far-right movements in the West.[11] Among its main promoters are not only far-right populist parties but also a wide-ranging network of protest movements (e.g., Pegida), ideological groupuscules (e.g., bloc identitaire),[12] bloggers (e.g., Fjordman), and noted intellectuals (e.g., Eric Zemmour). Prominent radical right-wing websites such as Gates of Vienna, Politically Incorrect, and France de Souche have provided a platform for bloggers to diffuse and popularize the conspiracy theory.[13]

Origins

The theory of the great replacement can be traced back to the 1973 novel Le Camp des Saints by Jean Raspail which depicts the collapse of Western culture owing to an overwhelming "tidal wave" of Third World immigration. The novel, along with the theory of Eurabia developed by the Swiss-Israeli writer Bat Ye'or in 2005, set the ground then for Renaud Camus to develop and present his book entitled The Great Replacement in 2012.[14]

Advocates and alleged advocates

Advocates and alleged advocates of the conspiracy theory include:

  • Renaud Camus, a French writer, coined the phrase the Great Replacement in 2010, publishing his book of the same name in 2011. Credited as the "progenitor of the Great Replacement doctrine" by the SPLC,[15] he has stated that "the great replacement is very simple. You have one people, and in the space of a generation you have a different people".[16] Camus has argued that European culture, civilization and identity are in danger of being overrun by mass migration, especially Islamic, and hence physically replaced.[17]
  • Robert Ménard, a French politician, former journalist and current mayor of the town of Béziers, has promoted the conspiracy theory.[8][10] /[18] Speaking of the demographics of school children in France, La Croix covered his statement that in one classroom at a school near his home 91% of pupils were "Muslim children", claiming that "obviously it's a problem".[19] Ménard declared that it was "proof of the Great Replacement in progress" in France.[20]
  • Viktor Orbán, a Hungarian politician and current prime minister of Hungary, has promoted the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Orbán's explicit adoption of the conspiracy theory, after he claimed; "if we let tens of millions of migrants travel to Europe from Africa and the Middle East ... the young people of Western Europe will know the day when they will be in a minority in their own country".[21]
  • Luc Ravel, a French Roman Catholic bishop and former Diocese of the French Armed Forces, has promoted the conspiracy theory.[22][23][18] He has labelled the birth rate of the Muslim population as "the Great Replacement". He claimed that French Muslims and Islamic immigrants believed that "'one day all this, it will be ours'" regarding France as a nation-state.[24][25] Ravel also has criticized the so-called promotion of abortion in relation to the conspiracy theory, stating he was pro-life "not just on a question of faith but because I love France", alluding to his desire for higher white French Catholic births.[26][27]
  • Laurent Wauquiez, a French politician and current President of The Republicans, has promoted the conspiracy theory.[28] Speaking specifically on the "Great Replacement", L'Obs reported on Wauquiez's assertion that both Saint-Étienne and Firminy should both be considered as "lost areas of the Republic" of France from an ethnic or cultural standpoint.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Froio, Caterina (21 August 2018). "Race, Religion, or Culture? Framing Islam between Racism and Neo-Racism in the Online Network of the French Far Right". Perspectives on Politics. 16 (3): 696–709. doi:10.1017/S1537592718001573. ...the conspiracy theory of the Grand remplacement (Great replacement) positing the 'Islamo-substitution' of biologically autochthonous populations in the French metropolitan territory, by Muslim minorities mostly coming from sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb
  2. ↑ Sowerwine, Charles (2017). "The Far Right in a Neo-Liberal Age: Pessimism, Sexism and Racism in Modern French Thought" (PDF). French History & Civilization. Perspectives on Politics. 7: 190–203. Retrieved 24 September 2018. ...the Grand Remplacement (Great Replacement), a lunar right - or is the term now "alt right?" - conspiracy theory about a plot to effect "the progressive replacement, over a few decades, of the historic population of our country by immigrants, the vast majority of them non-European.
  3. ↑ Plenel, Edwy (28 June 2016). For the Muslims: Islamophobia in France. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1-78478-488-1 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Sowerwine, Charles (2018). France since 1870 : Culture, Politics and Society. London: Palgrave. p. 460. ISBN 1-137-40611-9. OCLC 1051356006. Zemmour flirted with a far-right conspiracy theory; the Grand remplacement (Great Replacement)
  5. 1 2 "How dangerous are Austria's far-right hipsters? | DW | 28 August 2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 24 September 2018. ...and spread the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory – the idea that white Europeans will be replaced by people from the Middle East and Africa through immigration. The theory is based on inflated statistics and un-substantiated demographic projections. Right now, only 4 percent of the European Union is made up of non-EU nationals.
  6. 1 2 Baldauf, Johannes (2017). Toxische Narrative : Monitoring rechts-alternativer Akteure (PDF) (in Dutch). Berlin: Amadeu Antonio Stiftung. p. 11. ISBN 978-3-940878-29-8. OCLC 1042949000. ...this narrative is highly compatible with concrete conspiracy narratives about how this replacement is desired and planned, either by 'the politicians' or 'the elite,' which-ever connotes Jewishness more effectively.
  7. 1 2 "A campaign to deconstruct conspiracy discourse on the Internet". La Croix. 26 January 2018. ...le " grand remplacement ", une théorie de type conspirationniste selon laquelle il existerait un processus de remplacement des Français sur leur sol par des non-Européens.
  8. 1 2 Serhan, Yasmeen. "Pivotal Elections Loom Over Europe". The Atlantic. Retrieved 24 September 2018. ...the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory that contends immigrants are replacing the traditional French population.
  9. 1 2 "The philosophical sources of Marine Le Pen". Eurozine. 12 October 2017. ...a conspiracy theory which claims that the global elite has staged a plot to replace the indigenous European population with immigrants from other continents
  10. 1 2 "Marine Le Pen adviser found guilty of inciting hatred against Muslims". The Independent. 25 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Bergmann, Eirikur (2018). Conspiracy & Populism : The Politics of Misinformation. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 127. ISBN 3-319-90359-4. OCLC 1049171816.
  12. ↑ "Generation Identity: Far-right group sending UK recruits to military-style training camps in Europe". The Independent. 9 November 2017. ...claims it represents "indigenous Europeans" and propagates the far-right conspiracy theory that white people are becoming a minority in what it calls the "Great Replacement"
  13. ↑ Betz, Hans-Georg (5 February 2018). "The Radical Right and Populism". In Rydgren, Jens. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190274559.013.5.
  14. ↑ Ait Abdeslam, Abderrahim (28 August 2018). "The vilification of Muslim diaspora in French fictional novels: 'Soumission' (2015) and 'Petit Frère' (2008) as case studies". Journal of Multicultural Discourses: 1–11. doi:10.1080/17447143.2018.1511717.
  15. ↑ "Hate in Europe: June 2018". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center.
  16. ↑ "The French Origins of 'You Will Not Replace Us'". The New Yorker. 4 December 2017.
  17. ↑ ""You will not replace us": a French philosopher explains the Charlottesville chant". 15 August 2017.
  18. 1 2 "France: Politician fined $6,150 for mentioning "migrant invasion"". Jihad Watch. 7 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Robert Ménard condemned after his remarks on the "great replacement" in schools". La Croix. 25 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Robert Ménard condemned after comments about "Muslim" students in his city and the "big replacement"". Libération. 25 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Wauquiez is not "embarrassed" by Viktor Orban's speech on immigration". Le Journal du Dimanche. 12 July 2017.
  22. ↑ "Europe Is Committing Demographic Suicide". Zero Hedge. 22 August 2017.
  23. ↑ "Controversial French archbishop warns of 'great replacement' by Muslims". Christian Today. 13 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "Archbishop of Strasbourg: 'Muslims say France will be theirs'". Arutz Sheva. 12 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "'The Trip To Spain' Ends with a Frightening Scene About The West's Decline". The Federalist. 1 September 2017.
  26. ↑ "French archbishop warns of 'the great replacement' while speaking out about Muslim birth rate". International Business Times. 12 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "The Archbishop of Strasbourg evokes 'the Great Replacement'". Valeurs actuelles. 3 July 2017.
  28. ↑ "The French Right Goes Wrong". The American Prospect. 22 December 2017.
  29. ↑ "Wauquiez sees the 'great replacement' in Saint-Etienne: controversy in 3 acts". L'Obs. 31 October 2017.
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