Since its inception in 2018, Jeune Garde (Young Guard) has been France’s most prominent anti-fascist youth organisation. However, the group may not exist for much longer. In June 2025, the French government issued a decree dissolving the group and declaring it illegal. This decision, presented as a measure to protect public order, has ignited fierce debate in France. It follows similar moves across other European nations such as Germany, Hungary, and the UK, where activist groups have been banned and criminalised for their activities in a way that many feel is disproportionate and anti-democrateic.

Jeune Garde was founded in Lyon in 2018, following a rise in far-right street violence in the city. The operation mainly consists of young working-class leftists, has divisions in the French cities of Paris, Strasbourg, Lille, and Montpellier, and operates according to a militant and confrontational ethos. Affiliates are often masked and dressed in black garb bearing the ‘three arrows’ symbol familiar to many leftists since its use by German social democrats in the 1930s. The organisation’s slogan — ‘Face a l’extrême droite: riposte immediate!’ (‘Against the far right: immediate response!’) — defines what its supporters stand for: open confrontation against France’s far right.

While such rhetoric is not always backed up by violence, Jeune Garde is well known for its street fights with far-right groups. Activists train in combat sports and conduct street patrols where they seek out fascist activists, disrupt meetings, and conceal racist graffiti. The group has shared videos of such altercations on social media, which have drawn criticism and led to French newspapers framing Jeune Garde as a far-left militia.

In July 2024, eight members were arrested for assaulting a 15-year-old who was connected to the Jewish Defence League, an ultra right-wing Zionist organisation. According to court filings, the teenager was beaten up and forced to chant ‘viva Palestine’. Jeune Garde, however, claims that the confrontation was verbal, not physical, and has accused the authorities of exaggeration and bias.

The French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, nonetheless alleges that Jeune Garde has participated in multiple violent incidents over the years, mostly involving disrupting far-right gatherings, and has taken a hard line on this behaviour. On June 12th, Retailleau — a member of the conservative government led by President Macron — proposed to dissolve Jeune Garde and Lyon Populaire, a far-right group founded in 2019. He claimed that the state ‘cannot normalise violence, no matter who it comes from’, and that ‘those who claim to fight fascism with fascist means must be held to account’. The Council of Ministers has since approved the proposal, citing the ongoing court case relating to the June 2024 incident.

The dissolution of Jeune Garde came about as a result of a law introduced in 1936, which enables the French government to ban ‘private militias and armed groups that disturb public order’. According to the decree, the anti-fascist organisation ‘promotes a culture of physical confrontation, trains its members in hand-to-hand combat and incites hatred against opponents’. 

The ban raises questions about proportionality and the selective application of state power. Jeune Garde operates publicly, its leaders are openly known, and the group holds open demonstrations (one of its founders, Raphaël Arnault, is an elected member of parliament with La France Insoumise). The scale and nature of Jeune Garde’s actions are also vastly different to that of France’s far-right extremists, who have committed murders and plotted terrorist attacks. Jeune Garde targets ideological opponents, not civilians or marginalised communities.

Jeune Garde’s leadership has argued that the use of an anti-militia law to abolish a public movement without clear evidence of lethal violence is a political manoeuvre. Arnault has publicly confirmed that the group will appeal the decision, stating in an interview: ‘If Bruno Retailleau thinks he can silence anti-fascists through bureaucratic repression, he clearly doesn’t understand our history or determination.’ Arnault has been a well-known figure on the French left since his early twenties, and is the face of a younger, more militant generation. His 2024 election campaign emphasised his work with Jeune Garde, and linked the movement to broader struggles against the far-right, racism and islamophobia. 

Multiple political parties in France have denounced the dissolution, including the Greens and communist and socialist parties. Critics have emphasised that the actions of Jeune Garde must be viewed in the context of a persistent and rapidly growing far-right extremist movement in France, and Jeune Garde claims that the state is approaching this threat with increasing passivity.

The Human Rights League (LDH) and Amnesty International France have condemned the group’s ban. LDH noted that banning a political organisation — even a radical one — should always be a last resort, not a first reaction; the 1936 law was historically used against fascist paramilitaries, and only very rarely applied to loosely organised activist collectives. On the other hand, supporters of the ban argue that it is a question of methods, not ideology. ‘Violence on the street is unacceptable, whether it’s from the far right or the far left,’ a senior official at the Ministry of the Interior told Le Monde, ‘We are defending the Republic, not taking sides.’

The dissolution comes at a moment of political instability following recent escalations in Gaza and a growing wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in France, which have been met with brutal police violence. Against this backdrop, the future of Jeune Garde is uncertain. If the group loses its appeal at the high court, a precedent will have been established, and activists across France will likely feel the impact. Regardless, the French government’s treatment of the group thus far embodies a growing tendency among governments across Europe to lean towards the right and turn away from liberal democracy. As the far-right movement in France gathers strength, the government’s decision to ban its most prominent anti-fascist youth organisation may ultimately come to haunt them.