PARIS, January 14 (Reuters) – France’s interior ministry said on Wednesday it had banned 10 British far-right activists from entering or staying in France because they carried out actions on French soil that were seen as inciting violence and seriously disrupting public order.
The activists, identified as members of the “Raise the Colors” group involved in national flag-raising campaigns, sought to find and destroy boats used to transport migrants and campaigned along France’s northern coast, calling on the British public to join the campaign to stop migrants, according to France’s interior ministry.
“Our rule of law is non-negotiable and violence or incitement to hatred has no place on our soil,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that it had been informed of the group’s activities in December and had referred the matter to the relevant authorities as these actions could cause “serious disruption” to public order.
Raise Color describes itself as a grassroots movement that began in the central English city of Birmingham when a small group of people began tying the flag to lampposts in a show of national pride. The effort is said to have spread across the UK.
The widespread display of England’s red-and-white St George’s Cross and Britain’s Union Jack has raised concerns among some immigrant communities as it reflects rising anti-immigration sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests last year outside hotels housing asylum seekers.
Neither the organization nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
The issue of migrants and small boat crossings carrying French migrants has become a focus for British voters and helped Nigel Farage’s right-wing anti-immigration Reform UK party gain a landslide lead in the polls.
Farage met in London last year with Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, who accused France of being too soft on immigration.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen in Paris and Muvija M in London; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
