Atalante is a far-right,

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

group based in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Their leader and founder is Raphaël Lévesque (nickname Raf Stomper), lead singer for Quebecois

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

band ''Légitime violence'' and leader of the earlier

white power skinhead White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...

group Les Stompers (). Their name comes from a French frigate that was sunk by the British in the

Battle of Neuville The Battle of Pointe-aux-Trembles was a naval and land engagement that took place on 16 May 1760 during the French and Indian War on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It was near the present-day village of Neuville, in New France, du ...

in 1760, as part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

Views

Atalante's ideology has been described as

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...

, incorporating elements of

revolutionary nationalism Revolutionary nationalism is a term that can refer to: • Different ideologies and doctrines which differ strongly from traditional nationalism, in the sense that it is more involved in the social question, involved geopolitically whose polit ...

, anti-capitalism,

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

, and

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

. The group is primarily inspired by Italian neofascist philosopher

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiant ...

and the thinkers of the German

Conservative Revolution The Conservative Revolution (german: Konservative Revolution), also known as the German neoconservative movement or new nationalism, was a German national-conservative movement prominent during the Weimar Republic, in the years 1918–1933 (betw ...

. Atalante Quebec has staged anti-immigration rallies, and pasted stickers. The group hands out food in Quebec City's underprivileged neighbourhoods but, according to a 2017 communiqué, only to people of "Neo-French origin." The group's slogan is "Exister, c'est combattre ce qui me nie" (), a phrase taken from French far-right author

Dominique Venner Dominique Venner (; 16 April 1935 – 21 May 2013) was a French historian, journalist and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding '' Europe-Action'', before w ...

History

On July 1, 2017 (the date of the

150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation. Planning Major pl ...

), Atalante held a demonstration in front of the

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

building in Quebec City. In August 2017, the group put up anti-immigration banners around Quebec City, including one with the hashtag #remigration, referring to their desired return of recent immigrants and their descendants to their countries of origin. During the night of August 21, Atalante put up several banners around

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, including on the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

, protesting against a recent wave of asylum seekers from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In September 2017, Atalante put up posters denouncing so-called " Cultural Marxism" at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

and

Cégep Garneau The Cégep Garneau is a public French-language college in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. History The college traces its origins to the merger of several institutions which became public ones in 1967, when the Quebec system of public colleges was ...

. In November 2017, Members of Atalante joined a protest with

La Meute La Meute (French for "The Pack") is a Québécois nationalist pressure group and identitarian movement fighting against illegal immigration and radical Islam. The group was founded in September 2015 in Quebec by two former Canadian Armed Forc ...

and Storm Alliance. Atalante unfurled a banner reading "Le Québec aux Québécois" (). On May 23, 2018, members of Atalante entered the offices of the ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' news media in Montreal, masked. They shouted, threw documents on the ground, and intimidated journalist Simon Coutu, who had written about them. On June 18, 2018, Raphaël Lévesque was arrested in connection with this event. He was released that same day upon signing a promise to appear. He was meant to present himself to the Palais de justice in Montreal to be formally tried with breaking and entering, mischief, and intimidation of Simon Coutu. However, he did not appear at the Palais de justice for his hearing and his case was deferred until September 28, 2018. On June 10, 2020, Lévesque was cleared of all charges. On December 19, 2018, an anonymous anti-fascist collective published a list of all the members of Atalante, outlining the links between the Quebecois group, the Italian neo-fascist group CasaPound, and the French neo-fascist group Social Bastion.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 establishments in Quebec 2015 in Quebec Canadian far-right political movements Politics of Quebec Quebec nationalism White nationalism in Canada Anti-Islam sentiment in Canada Anti-immigration politics in Quebec Anti-Islam sentiment in Quebec

Views

History

See also

References

External links