Statement to be verified: It is feasible to expel from all overseas nationals from a rustic’s territory, together with asylum seekers and those that aren’t assimilable.
Context: Coined in France on the finish of the final century and regaining recognition in recent times amongst members of the novel proper, the idea of “remigration” has entered the vocabulary of a number of European nationalist-populist and identitarian leaders. The time period refers back to the voluntary or pressured return of foreigners, individuals of overseas origin, or asylum seekers who’re unable to combine and thus are likely to pollute the host inhabitants.
On 6 September in Grosseto, Italy, at its nationwide competition, the far-right motion CasaPound introduced that it could launch an Italian platform for “remigration”, in opposition to “mass immigration” and in defence of “nationwide identification.”
For years, the time period remigration has been on the centre of the slogans utilized by the European and worldwide far proper, however just lately it has additionally entered the vocabulary of Italian political leaders. Literally, the time period means “reverse migration”, however in actuality it means “pressured return to the nation of origin.”
The Italian journalist Valerio Renzi, professional within the far-right and creator of the guide Le radici profonde: La destra italiana e la questione culturale (“Deep Roots: The Italian Right and the Cultural Question,” Fandango, 2025), explains that the phrase first circulated among the many French far proper within the Nineteen Nineties, however has just lately discovered a footing in different international locations.
In Austria, the time period has been revived by the chief of the Identitarian Movement, Martin Sellner. In Germany, the web newspaper Correctiv revealed a gathering that befell in November 2023 gathering a gaggle of right-wing extremists, ethno-nationalist ideologues, high-ranking representatives of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, far proper), members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, conservative), entrepreneurs and attorneys, who mentioned the “common idea of remigration.” The revelations sparked a wave of concern and a big civil protest motion.
In Italy, the time period been gaining foreign money since January 2025, following studies of sexual harassment by younger males of overseas origin, derogatorily referred to in dialect as maranza, filed by a number of feminine vacationers on New Year’s Eve in Piazza Duomo, Milan.
“From that second on, all of the right-wing media shops in Italy – newspapers and TV stations – have been speaking about it. Within a number of weeks, the phrase unfold, regardless that it’s but to seem within the platforms of institutional right-wing events,” says Renzi. That stated, the time period has, for instance, been utilized by Andrea Delmastro, Fratelli d’Italia’s undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice.
On 26 July, a community of far-right events marched in Vienna utilizing this precise time period, in an indication organised by Danish militants who in mid-July climbed onto the roof of a mosque in Copenhagen with a banner calling for the expulsion of foreigners and an finish to the Islamisation of Denmark.
The community that participated within the Vienna occasion is similar that met in Italy on 17 May at Remigration Summit 25. “The world discussion board was held in Gallarate, close to Milan,” explains Renzi. “The organisers thought that it could be fertile floor for this sort of propaganda. No distinguished figures from the Italian scene truly participated within the discussion board, however within the meantime, CasaPound has begun its personal parallel marketing campaign centred on this time period, which can result in the launch of the Italian platform on the nationwide competition in September.”
Presenting the Gallarate summit, Martin Sellner, one of many occasion’s organizers, stated on his social media accounts: “In latest days, the left-wing media has helped us publicize this summit, and tomorrow hundreds of thousands of Italians will hear about remigration.”
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Speakers on the occasion in May included Lena Kotre of the AfD, John McLoughlin of the Irish National Party, Belgian political scientist Dries Van Langenhove, and different figures linked to identitarian and neo-fascist strain teams. In Italy, it’s primarily members of the Lega occasion who use the phrase remigration.
For instance, on the Gallarate summit General Roberto Vannacci, MEP and deputy secretary of Lega, stated in a video message: “I’m sorry I can’t be with you in individual for this vital occasion, however I need to make my voice heard and provides my full help. The difficulty you’re addressing at present is one which calls for braveness, however it’s obligatory, and above all, it is a matter that has been absent from the talk for too lengthy: remigration.”
According to Vannacci, remigration isn’t a slogan, however has concrete which means: “returning to their international locations of origin those that don’t respect our legal guidelines, who reject our values and despise our tradition.”
A deceptive idea
The time period is utilized by far-right teams in help of a conspiracy concept, that of ethnic substitute or “nice substitute”, and to masks deportation with a euphemism, i.e., a apply that’s unlawful in Europe, involving the arbitrary, pressured switch of overseas nationals to different international locations. In Italy in 2025, the time period was launched as a brand new time period within the authoritative Treccani dictionary.
“Its success is because of the European identitarian community in Central Europe. But it solely exploded when Donald Trump used it in his election marketing campaign towards Kamala Harris,” explains Renzi. In Europe, this community’s foremost ideologue is the Austrian Sellner, whose guide Remigration will probably be printed in Italy in September by a Tuscan publishing home near Fratelli d’Italia, Prime minister Giorgia Meloni‘s political occasion.
Then there was the function of the AfD, which has run election campaigns primarily based on this phrase since 2023. That yr in Germany, the phrase was voted Unwort des Jahres, “non-word of the yr,” which means probably the most deceptive and dehumanising time period in line with the group of linguists gathered within the Unwort-Aktion initiative. “But proper now, the AfD itself is contemplating abandoning that slogan, as a result of it seems to be too divisive and horrifying. There is a debate throughout the occasion about this,” explains Renzi.
In Greece, the place the far proper has no downside speaking concerning the “deportation” of migrants, the idea of remigration doesn’t appear to have taken root and is especially talked about in media studies on the actions of the European radical proper. In France “remigration” has been primarily promoted by the identitarian motion, beginning with Bloc/Génération identitaire.
The time period is utilized by far-right teams in help of the “nice substitute” conspiracy concept, and to masks deportation, a apply that’s unlawful in Europe
The latter launched the time period into public discourse in 2014, with the thought of sending some immigrants and their descendants again to their international locations of origin. In 2022, the far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour made it a coverage proposal, even asserting a ministry of remigration throughout his election marketing campaign. French media and researchers hyperlink remigration to the nice substitute conspiracy concept, emphasising its propagandistic use in far-right circles.
In distinction, France’s main and doubtlessly governing occasion, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s Rassemblement National (RN, far proper), avoids the time period remigration as a part of its legitimisation technique (“dédiabolisation“, or “de-demonization,” as it’s referred to as in France), whereas additionally supporting powerful measures on immigration (restrictions on birthright citizenship, referendums, choice for French residents in entry to public providers, expulsions of overseas criminals). On a number of events, the RN has most well-liked to speak about “immigration de peuplement” – immigration for inhabitants development – with out adopting remigration as a slogan.
On the opposite hand, the time period is extensively utilized by the national-feminist collective Nemesis, whose campaigns give attention to what they determine because the important difficulty within the battle for the protection of girls’s rights, and towards sexist and sexual violence: “viol de prédation” (predatory rape), or violence towards girls in public areas. According to their knowledge – which has been extensively debunked and contextualised – this violence is especially perpetrated by males of overseas origin, who ought to thus be deported. “Remigration brings peace” is a phrase that repeatedly seems of their posts on Instagram or X, and different communications.
What are right-wing events proposing with the time period remigration? The expulsion of all irregular immigrants, but additionally of all those that are “unassimilable,” a really vaguely outlined class that may be interpreted in a roughly restrictive method. “Obviously, this could imply mass deportations of people that have been residing in our international locations for a very long time,” explains Renzi. Furthermore, these teams’ thought is to maneuver foreigners en masse not solely to their international locations of origin, however to 3rd international locations with which they haven’t any connection.
In apply, this could be impractical and opposite to the elemental legal guidelines of European international locations – in the intervening time – however the intention is to maneuver the needle by way of what could be mentioned and carried out in immigration coverage. “In reality,” explains Renzi, “it’s a additional legitimisation of a racist method to migration coverage.”
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🤝 Stavros Malichudis from Solomon contributed to this text. It was produced with the help of the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). It could not essentially replicate the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute. The sole accountability for any content material supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the creator(s) and it might not essentially replicate the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.
