The final straw has come for the Civitas Movement in France, where it was dissolved on Wednesday, but in Belgium, no decision has been taken on the fundamentalist Catholic group.
France's Council of Ministers decided to dissolve Civitas on Wednesday at the end of proceedings initiated in Summer against a group whose ideology, close to the far right, sometimes flirts with conspiracy theories.
“The values espoused by this movement have no place in our Republic,” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on X (ex-Twitter), posting the supporting decree, after initiating the dissolution at the beginning of August.
The movement, which has a strong presence on social networks, is accused in particular of advocating “going to war against the Republic,” including by resorting “to force,” government spokesman Olivier Véran stressed.
“Civitas considers human rights to be tools for destroying Christian civilisation; Civitas has organised rallies in tribute to figures emblematic of collaboration; Civitas promotes a hierarchy between French citizens with clearly anti-Semitic and Islamophobic theses,” the government spokesman said.
Civitas president Alain Escada immediately retorted on social networks that appeals “will of course be lodged quickly” and affirmed that “the fight goes on.”
Founded in 1999, the 'Institut Civitas' was a traditionalist organisation close to the Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X founded by French bishop Marcel Lefebvre.
The organisation’s Belgian branch was at the forefront in September of the revolt against a sex education course in schools, which resulted in several demonstrations.
However, the Belgian authorities currently have no plans to dissolve the organisation.
“In Belgium, our approach is to monitor individuals and all forms of extremism. We don’t monitor particular groups, but individuals,” a source at the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis, OCAM, said.
