EU needs a boost of healthy nationalism – Euro MP
“French people have the right to keep millions abroad to remain the masters of their own destiny,” believes Bruno Gollnisch, a member of the European parliament and executive vice-president of the National Front Party.
Right-wing political parties are making ground throughout the EU, where a mixture of anti-Muslim sentiment and a hard line on immigration is striking a chord with voters.The French National Front has been at the vanguard of extremist and ultra-right policies in Europe.Bruno Gollnisch has no doubt that the EU has had a negative impact on the French national identity and French culture because “Europe should have been protected against the side effects of globalism.”“The EU is trying to build a kind of European super state which is not the genius of the European civilization. Europe is the place where equality, dignity and sovereignty of nations have been invented and we should retain this part of the European culture,” Gollnisch says.Bruno Gollnisch insists his party condemns any sort of violence and never use it against anybody, though party members “are very often subjected to violence and riots against us from far left.”“We are just patriots. We would like the French be first in France, exactly like the Russians remain the masters of their own destiny – and many other people. We have absolutely no sympathy towards this kind of violence.”Gollnisch agrees with Marine Le Pen, competing with him for the leader position in the National Front, that praying Muslims are “occupying our streets without guns.”“It is a progressive colonization which is quite natural if we have not enough French people and people from abroad, mainly, as a matter of fact, from Muslim Africa, are trying to get a better life in our country, than they have in their home country – I can understand that,” Bruno Gollnisch says, “But I think we have the right to change this policy and keep these millions of people abroad and to try to help them in their own country and remain the masters of our destiny.”
As for Russia, the MEP says, that there is a Russian culture, which is mainly Slavic and Christian, therefore Russian people possess a huge territory due to the sacrifice of patriots and discoverers, and this “could be menaced by other people if the Russians have not enough children to [replace] themselves.”Bruno Gollnisch says the usual rhetoric of the opponents of his party is “to [equate] patriots to Nazis.”“It is the usual rhetoric of our opponents to wrongly assimilate patriotism defending national interest with kind of being complacent to fascism or Nazism – which is an obvious lie – and it is quite clear now to 90 per cent of people in France,” he maintains.The line between nationalism and Nazism is quite clear, he says. “We just defend our national identity. Our patriotism – or nationalism, if you want – has nothing to do with aggression towards any country or people.”The Euro MP repeated the opinion of the party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen that defending national identity against globalism will be perfectly understood by people in Africa and Asia, who will do the same.Bruno Gollnisch particularly stressed that the Holocaust cannot be denied, but “historical discussion [on the matter] should be absolutely free.”There is a lot of disinformation about the National Front party, says Gollnisch, which is often portrayed as a neo-fascist one, but which is definitely not, he insists.“I am a tough guy, if you want, I believe in what I say, I defend my country and the interests of my fellow countrymen, but perfectly understand that other people do exactly the same,” Gollnisch says.The National Front party is growing in the polls in France because there is a reaction against globalism in Europe and “Russian people should not be afraid about that,” concluded politician.
