PARIS: The French government on Wednesday banned far-right group Generation Identity, which gained notoriety through several attempts to block migrants from entering the country.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin posted the decree dissolving the group on Twitter, saying it “incites discrimination, hatred and violence” and has ties to white supremacist groups. The decree added that the group, which has branches in several European countries, could be regarded “as having the character of a private militia” and noted that it had received donations from New Zealand mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant, who shot dead 51 people in Christchurch in March 2019.

Clement Martin, a spokesperson for Generation Identity which is based in the southeastern city of Lyon, said it would challenge the ban in France’s highest administrative court.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2021