And happy holidays
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They are more reminiscent of the solstice than of the birth of Christ, more of Stonehenge than of Bethlehem. Neopagans are a marginal but influential trend on the far right and are often neo-Nazi sympathizers.
Candles, a few dead leaves, a photo of a deceased loved one and a metal object embossed with Norse runes – a “Christmas tower”. At the end of October, Frédéric Châtillon, historical leader of the neo-fascist group GUD and close to Marine Le Pen, celebrates the Sammain festival, the Celtic equivalent of the very commercial Halloween. The gem also comes out almost every Christmas season and never misses an opportunity to wish your friends on social networks a happy “Yule” or “Jul” on the winter solstice. As for the “lost loved one” that the activist-turned-businessman speaks of, it is none other than Robert Blanc, grandfather of his wife Sighild Blanc and former Waffen SS of the Charlemagne Division. Nice illustration of the survival of neo-paganism in certain fringe areas of the radical right and its connections to neo-Nazism.
Although this cult may seem folkloric, Frédéric Châtillon practices it regularly. It must be said that his grandfather by marriage, Robert Blanc, was influenced by this neo-paganism that was fashionable in certain branches of the SS. In addition, during the 2022 Christmas dinner, Frédéric Châtillon decorates the New Year's table with a new round of Christmas feasts and a coaster with a black sun. This esoteric symbol, valued by Nazi mysticism, can be found, for example, on the floor of one of the rooms in the castle.