A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - Resurgence of Francoism and contradictions (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On November 29, 2025, the "Franco-Hispanic Circle" planned to hold a 
mass in homage to Franco for the 50th anniversary of his death. It was 
to be held at the Notre-Dame-de-Consolidation chapel, run by the Society 
of Saint Pius X and located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. 
Ultimately canceled, this mass sheds light on a network extending into 
relatively small, but still very much alive, circles of the far right. - 
"Francisco Franco, a caudillo for Spain," "Stalin's claws on Republican 
Spain," "The betrayal of the Spanish left," and "Bloody Spain: 
Anarchists, Socialist Militias, Communists, and Revolutionaries: 
1880-1939." Since the 2022 publication of the French translation of Pío 
Moa's book "The Myths of the Spanish Civil War," "neo-Francoism" seems 
to be taking root in France through literature.

The author of the four books with inflammatory titles mentioned above is 
none other than Michel Festivi. These "works," published by Dualpha and 
Synthèse Nationale, propagate the idea of a Republican Spain subjugated 
to Stalin and the USSR, and ultimately neutralized by a providential 
figure relying on Spanish troops in Morocco.

A

publisher like Dualpha deserves a closer look at its history. Hosted by 
the website francephi.com, Dualpha was founded in 1988 by Philippe-André 
Duquesne, also known as Philippe Randa. In his book "Histoire de la 
librairie française" (History of French Bookselling), historian Julien 
Hage lists bookstores that have published or still publish books such as 
those mentioned above: the "Librairie française" (French Bookstore), 
founded in 1952 by former Vichy supporter Henry Coston; Ogmios, 
established in 1986 in the former headquarters of Jacques Doriot's 
French Popular Party; the "Librairie nationale" (National Bookstore); 
the "Licorne bleue" (Blue Unicorn); and "L'Æncre" (The Ink).

Today, only the Librairie française remains. It sells, for example, 
books by Michel Festivi, as well as one by Christophe Dolbeau, who 
argues that Franco's coup

was nothing less than a "legitimate reflex of self-defense by eternal 
Spain."
http://www.librairiefrancaise.fr/fr/autres-guerres/471-ce-qu-on-ne-vous-a-jamais-dit-sur-la-guerre-d-espagne-christophe-dolbeau-9782357910140.html?search_query=espagne&results=161 
.

Books by Robert Brasillach also feature prominently, judging by the 
extensive collection presented on the bookstore's website.

Located at 202 rue Lecourbe in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, it also 
sells books published by L'Æncre, such as Guillaume Faye's "Why We 
Fight: Manifesto of European Resistance."
http://www.librairiefrancaise.fr/fr/recherche?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=brasillach 
.

The New Youth of Neo-Francoism.

Neo-Francoism is thus giving new life to all this propaganda. Le Figaro 
Histoire, for its part, published an interview with Pío Moa in its 
August-September 2022 issue dedicated to "the epic of the conquistadors."
https://boutique.lefigaro.fr/produit/134715-l-epopee-des-conquistadors .

In it, he asserts that "the communist discourse on the Spanish Civil War 
still reigns throughout Europe" and laments that Francoism has "lost the 
battle of propaganda and culture."
("Spanish Civil War: The Mechanics of Chaos," Isabelle Schmitz and 
Philippe Maxence, Le Figaro Histoire, August-September 2022 issue).

This last statement by Pío Moa, however, is coupled with the few 
remaining disagreements among neo-Francoists. A striking example is that 
of Hermann Tertsch, a member of parliament from the far-right Vox party, 
and the neo-Nazi Isabel Peralta. A member of an obscure "Sección de 
Asalto" (in English, "Assault Section," a reference to the SA of Nazi 
Germany) and of the FE-La Falange party, Peralta also founded the 
"Bastión Frontal" in 2020. On February 13, 2020, during a tribute to the 
soldiers of the Blue Division who fought with the Nazis during World War 
II, she declared: "The enemy will always be the same, even if he wears 
different masks: the Jew, because nothing is more certain than this 
statement: the Jew is responsible."
("'The Jew Is To Blame': Young Neo-Fascists In Spain Spark Outrage," 
rantt.com, Carmen Aguilera-Carnerero, April 16, 2021).

Antisemitism and the far right?

Immediately denounced by Vox, this speech simultaneously outraged former 
members of the Blue Division who deny having been responsible in any way 
for the genocide of the Jews.

"Isabel Medina Peralta también enfada a los falangistas de verdad," 
February 19, 2021, elmundo.es.

Hermann Tertsch participated in an "international conference on 
combating antisemitism" in Israel in March 2015, at the invitation of 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (RN), and Marion 
Maréchal, president of the Identity-Liberties (IDL) party, also attended 
this event. The most striking aspect here is surely Netanyahu's appeal 
to those nostalgic for Franco, who sent "volunteers" to fight the Soviet 
Union alongside the Wehrmacht.

"A Neutrality of Facade," Spain Facing the Holocaust, Revue d'Histoire 
de la Shoah, issue 203, February 2015: 
https://shs.cairn.info/revue-d-histoire-de-la-shoah-2015-2-page-163?lang=fr#s1n2 
.

The clearly antisemitic dimension of collaboration with the Third Reich 
is, in this instance, denied, and the European far right, despite its 
structural antisemitism, becomes an almost unconditional supporter of 
the State of Israel.

Israeli-Spanish relations remain quite unique. The two countries only 
began establishing diplomatic relations in 1986. Israel voted in 1949 
against lifting the sanctions imposed on Spain by the United Nations 
(UN) in 1946. The 2026 Iran-Iraq War prompted Spain to recall its 
ambassador to Israel, and Israel to recall its ambassador to Spain. At 
the same time, Pedro Sánchez's government firmly refused access to its 
air bases to the American military, which had joined Israel in fighting 
Iran. We can therefore consider that, despite the antisemitism of 
neo-Francoists like Isabel Peralta, they may constitute, in Spain, the 
last remaining supporters of a state like Israel, which constantly 
violates international law through its murderous actions in Gaza, the 
West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and many other countries.

Hakim from the program "Media and Antifascism" on Radio Libertaire

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=9126
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