The ''Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples'' (MRAP; Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples) is an anti-racist French NGO founded in 1949.

Origins and name changes

In 1941, the ''Mouvement national contre le racisme'' (MNCR, the "National Movement Against Racism") was created by several members of the French Resistance who believed that a specific struggle against racism was a crucial part of France's liberation from German occupation. One of their primary goals was to save as many Jewish children as possible from deportation. The movement coordinated its actions with the Protestant and Catholic Church. Two clandestine newspapers, ''J'accuse'' in the North zone and ''Fraternité'' in the South zone, were established to counter the racist ideology of the Nazis and the Vichy state. On May 22, 1949, several MNCR members, including the painter

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

and the Social Catholic leader Marc Sangnier, created the ''Mouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et pour la paix'' (Movement Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and for Peace). The group emphasized the role of anti-racism within their larger critique of

neo-nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, and the larger

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The group was renamed the ''Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'Amitié entre les Peuples'' in 1972, the name it is still known as today.

Postwar activism

After WWII, the MRAP targeted its anti-racist activism to support anti-colonialism within the ongoing French wars of decolonization. They opposed the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

(1954–62) and were one of the few organizations to condemn the methods of the police prefect Maurice Papon and the Paris massacre of 1961. In 1951, the group advocated in support of sixteen accused Martinican sugar cane cutters during the unsolved French criminal case known as the Affaire des 16 de Basse Pointe. The MRAP also critiqued the nature of the French economy's dependence on

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

labor during the period of economic growth known as the '' Trente Glorieuses'' (1945 to 1974). On January 6, 1956, at the Hôtel Lutetia in Paris, the MRAP award was given to

Jules Isaac Jules Isaac (18 November 1877 in Rennes – 6 September 1963 in Aix-en-Provence) was "a well known and highly respected Jewish historian in France with an impressive career in the world of education" by the time World War II began. Internationally, ...

to recognize the “great impact” against antisemitism made by Isaac’s two books ''Jésus et Israël'' (''Jesus and Israel'') and ''Genèse de l'antisémitisme'' (''Genesis of Antisemitism''). The MRAP supported the Pleven Act of July 1, 1972, which condemns incitations to racial hate and permits anti-racist associations to depose court suits against those who commit such

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

. The MRAP was also engaged in international issues. It was active against apartheid in South Africa and within the struggle against racism in the United States (in particular by defending

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

member Mumia Abu-Jamal).

Recent activities

Mouloud Aounit was its first general secretary (1989–2004), then president (2004–2008), then member of the presidential college (2008–2011) to not to belong to the French Communist Party (PCF). Despite dropping the term from its name in 1972, the MRAP continues to be engaged against

. They group also defends the rights of immigrants, Romani peoples, and other forms of racism. It is also engaged in actions against the right and

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

. Currently, it concentrates its action against immigration-restricting laws and in favor of immigrants' rights, as well as denunciation of racism on the internet and against

historical revisionism In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...

(courtsuit deposed against Bruno Gollnisch, member of the Front National). In some cases, it has also criticized the Socialist Party, criticizing Ségolène Royal, the Socialist contender for the

2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, when she released her program on security issues, stating that she was engaging in the "most dangerous kind of

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

". The MRAP was engaged in the creation of the alter-globalization NGO ATTAC in 1998. Some argue that a dividing line has emerged between the anti-racist organizations in France with SOS Racisme and the LICRA on one side and the MRAP and the LDH on the other. The first two are characterized as reacting against racism and antisemitism (sometimes amalgamating antisemitism and anti-zionism) while the latter two broaden their goal to defend voting rights for foreign residents and opposing the ban of the Islamic headscarf in schools. In 2006, the MRAP came to the defense of two women wearing headscarves who were refused service at a bed and breakfast in Vosges. The operator of the establishment,

Fanny Truchelut Yvette "Fanny" Truchelut is part owner of a bed-and-breakfast type of hostel in the department of Vosges, France. On August 11, 2006, Truchelut asked two female Muslim boarders to remove their headscarves in the public rooms of this hostel. A law ...

, was successfully sued for the refusal to provide a good or a service based on personal discrimination.

Opposition to genetic studies

The organization has voiced opposition to genetic studies being carried out in France, following advances in science and the discovery of DNA which now allows scientists to identify which

Y-haplogroup In human genetics, a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup is a haplogroup defined by mutations in the non-genetic recombination, recombining portions of DNA from the male-specific Y chromosome (called Y-DNA). Many people within a haplogroup share ...

a person or group belongs to. In the summer of 2015, a group of British scientists from the University of Leicester wished to study the DNA of around a hundred local volunteers from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, to find out “the intensity of the Scandinavian colonisation” from the 9th century Viking invasions. Despite the French state agreeing to this, MRAP and local member Jacques Declosmenil attempted to obstruct the scientific study, saying that the scientific results "will build on the idea that there are real Normans and fake Normans."

Image gallery

File:Mrapcrea1.png, Opening gala for the first MRAP Congress (1949). File:Palantcharles.png, Charles Palant (1949), former chairman of the Youth committee of LICRA, who became one of the founders of MRAP in 1949, and its General Secretary from 1950 to 1971. File:MRAPdroit&liberte.png, On September 19, 1949, the newspaper ''Droit et Liberté'' (Right and Freedom) becomes the propaganda organ of MRAP.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrap (Ngo) Anti-racism in France Anti-racist organizations in Europe Human rights organizations based in France Non-profit organizations based in France Far-left politics in France Organizations established in 1949 French Communist Party Immigrant rights organizations