The English Defense League and the Bloc Identitaire: Reflection on the Influence of State Policies in the Discourse of Extremist Street Movements and Their Future in England and in France

The last decade has marked a significant change in the British political attitudes: along with the electoral breakthrough of right-wing extremist/populist parties such as the British National Party or the United Kingdom Independence Party, there has been a reemergence of the street extremist movement phenomenon with the creation of the English defense league (EDL) in 2009. While historically the British civic culture was a strong rampart against extremist ideologies, the events of the 2000s such as September 11th, the July 2005 London bombings, the financial crisis, the 2011 London riots and the rise of extremism/anti-immigration feelings in Europe have changed the mentalities. More recently, the scandal of Muslim grooming gangs and the murder of a British soldier in the street of London generated the largest rise in popular support in the EDL history. Focusing mainly in criticizing Islam, the EDL characterizes the neo-racist ideology by avoiding the old biological racist discourse and has black, gay, Sikh or Jewish members. Constantly using social medias and defending the British values and the white working class, the EDL uses civilisationism to critic the Muslim culture and often refers to "white victimage" to warn against Islam. France also recently experienced a rise in its extremist group activity including the “Bloc Identitaire” which appears to be the most influent. Like the EDL it mainly targets Islam and describes Muslims as unintegrated subjects willing to take over the law and the original culture. Because both countries share different integration models but have almost the same demographics trends regarding their total population and Muslim population, it is very interesting to focus on how national policies on diversity, and especially Islam, influence extremist group discourses. Whether it focuses on the veil/burka or construction of mosque, both states deal differently and undermine the way extremism reject multiculturalism.