“The oblivion, and I’ll say even the historical error, are a key factor in the creation of a nation.” These words by Ernest Renan resonate particularly forcefully today, at a time when the European Union, under the influence of wokism, attempts to deconstruct the history of European nations and reduce it to sequence of faults and crimes.
History as a discipline has always been the ground of ideological battles. This was so from the very beginning: didn’t even Herodotus also write his historiography in order to extract political and moral lessons from it?
Closer to our time, the historians of the Third Republic built up a national narrative that allowed French schoolchildren to see themselves as part of a great collective adventure, to be inspired by heroic models, and to be proud of being part of the nation.
However, for half a century or so this history of the collective has been replaced by a history of repentance, in which France is nothing but a conglomerate of violence, domination and injustice. In schools and in the public arena our ancestors are presented only as misogynistic, racist and colonialist oppressors. In the wake of this exercise of demolition, the deconstructors, who are the masters of universities and the media ever since 1968, have imposed a national anti-narrative that aims to discourage all sense of belonging.
But this hatred of national self-identity was only one element of a deeper rejection: the rejection of our civilisation itself. White man who derives from the Greco-Roman and Christian heritage, has become the chief villain of the discourse of blame that European institutions engage in today. An ideological offensive that is particularly well illustrated by the Report on European historical consciousness.
The text, supported by both the extreme Left of Manon Aubry and the EPP of François-Xavier Bellamy, calls on the teaching of a history the narration of which is dominated by European crimes. Adopted in January 2024, it reaffirms all the dogmas of wokism: sexism, chauvinism, racism, and structural inequalities are apparently inherent parts of the historical narratives of European nations. The text is thus a continuation of the resolution adopted on March 8th, 2023 that acknowledges the existence of systemic racism in Europe, and to counteract it, demands affirmative action policies—in other words, institutionalised anti-white racism.
The European offensive, a stage in the rewriting of national history
As this instrumentalisation of history intensifies under pressure from Brussels, we did not need to wait for European technocrats to see France’s history distorted from within.
Emmanuel Macron, a master of doublespeak, is a perfect example. By entrusting Benjamin Stora with the mission of “reconciling” French and Algerian memory policies, he chose a historian known for relaying Algiers’ propaganda. This biased report, far from offering a balanced view of the past, only served to play into Algeria’s demands regarding memory policy, without any concessions being obtained in return.
Similarly, the European Commission is currently funding a project to the tune of €2.49 million to “reassess” the contribution of Muslim thinkers to occupied medieval Spain. Spearheaded by the Catholic University of Louvain, this programme aims to glorify Al-Andalus, the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian peninsula, as a model of a harmonious multicultural society, in contrast to a Christian Europe presented as intolerant and brutal. However, this vision is a pure ideological myth that has been repeatedly rebutted by serious historians such as Serafín Fanjul. European institutions continue to perpetuate this fantasy because they are pursuing a political project: to legitimise a Europe without roots, without identity, and without memory.
This historiography that posits a negative self-identity is based on the construction of an idealized otherness, of an always virtuous Other. While French national sentiment emerged during the Hundred Years’ War, with a national consciousness forged in opposition to the English Other, deconstructionists worked to shape a collective memory based on negative founding myths, in which the Other systematically occupies the role of the hero or the ‘good’, relegating France and Europe to the role of the guilty.
From the disappearance of national narratives to the negation of European civilization
Faced with the rise of deconstructivist ideologies, pro-Europeans could have sought to construct a European narrative capable of uniting peoples around a common heritage. They had no shortage of points of reference: from the Greco-Roman heritage to the scientific and industrial revolutions, our history is rich in great collective achievements. They could have found positive reference points even among the concepts dear to the liberals, from the Enlightenment to the Declaration of Human Rights.
But instead, they embraced wokeness as their sole ideological matrix, gradually erasing nations and European civilization itself. However, a Europe without a sense of belonging, founded solely on self-hatred and repentance, is no longer Europe.
This desire to write a negative history of Europe illustrates the intellectual terrorism theorized by Jean Sévillia. The instrumentalisation of the past serves to demonise the enemy: the hated figures of yesterday are constantly resurrected to be pinned on the ideological opponents of the Left. Thus, any desire to control migration is immediately equated with racism and Reductio ad Hitlerum is applied, a tactic otherwise known as ‘Godwin’s Law.’
Overwhelmed by this damaging narrative, Europeans are then told they have no other path to redemption than the unlimited acceptance of migrants and adherence to the most radical dogmas of wokeism.
As a last step, Brussels technocrats, disconnected from the realities of their people, have labelled the patriots of European nations as enemies of Europe. Yet, we see that we are, in reality, much more European than they are. The report on European historical consciousness rejects both the idea of a European civilization and the “sacred cows” of national narratives, as if it were necessary to deconstruct all heritage for the sake of building a Europe without roots. Yes, Europe is a civilization in its own right, and not a mere market of rootless, interchangeable consumers, as they would have us believe.
In a changing world, it is essential to cultivate a European civilisational consciousness, but this must neither deny our heritage nor erase our national histories. On the contrary: it must complement them, in a positive and unifying way.
Together with our European allies, we are reclaiming our history and our heritage. The contribution of the French and Europeans to humanity is unparalleled. While our history does have its dark sides, it is above all an epic of creation, invention, and grandeur. It is time to rediscover the pride in being who we are.
The Europeanist Rewriting of History: From a National Narrative to a Woke Nightmare
Carlo Maratta – The Rape of Europa, 1680-1685
By Carlo Maratta – [1], Public Domain, Wikimedia
“The oblivion, and I’ll say even the historical error, are a key factor in the creation of a nation.” These words by Ernest Renan resonate particularly forcefully today, at a time when the European Union, under the influence of wokism, attempts to deconstruct the history of European nations and reduce it to sequence of faults and crimes.
History as a discipline has always been the ground of ideological battles. This was so from the very beginning: didn’t even Herodotus also write his historiography in order to extract political and moral lessons from it?
Closer to our time, the historians of the Third Republic built up a national narrative that allowed French schoolchildren to see themselves as part of a great collective adventure, to be inspired by heroic models, and to be proud of being part of the nation.
However, for half a century or so this history of the collective has been replaced by a history of repentance, in which France is nothing but a conglomerate of violence, domination and injustice. In schools and in the public arena our ancestors are presented only as misogynistic, racist and colonialist oppressors. In the wake of this exercise of demolition, the deconstructors, who are the masters of universities and the media ever since 1968, have imposed a national anti-narrative that aims to discourage all sense of belonging.
But this hatred of national self-identity was only one element of a deeper rejection: the rejection of our civilisation itself. White man who derives from the Greco-Roman and Christian heritage, has become the chief villain of the discourse of blame that European institutions engage in today. An ideological offensive that is particularly well illustrated by the Report on European historical consciousness.
The text, supported by both the extreme Left of Manon Aubry and the EPP of François-Xavier Bellamy, calls on the teaching of a history the narration of which is dominated by European crimes. Adopted in January 2024, it reaffirms all the dogmas of wokism: sexism, chauvinism, racism, and structural inequalities are apparently inherent parts of the historical narratives of European nations. The text is thus a continuation of the resolution adopted on March 8th, 2023 that acknowledges the existence of systemic racism in Europe, and to counteract it, demands affirmative action policies—in other words, institutionalised anti-white racism.
The European offensive, a stage in the rewriting of national history
As this instrumentalisation of history intensifies under pressure from Brussels, we did not need to wait for European technocrats to see France’s history distorted from within.
Emmanuel Macron, a master of doublespeak, is a perfect example. By entrusting Benjamin Stora with the mission of “reconciling” French and Algerian memory policies, he chose a historian known for relaying Algiers’ propaganda. This biased report, far from offering a balanced view of the past, only served to play into Algeria’s demands regarding memory policy, without any concessions being obtained in return.
Similarly, the European Commission is currently funding a project to the tune of €2.49 million to “reassess” the contribution of Muslim thinkers to occupied medieval Spain. Spearheaded by the Catholic University of Louvain, this programme aims to glorify Al-Andalus, the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian peninsula, as a model of a harmonious multicultural society, in contrast to a Christian Europe presented as intolerant and brutal. However, this vision is a pure ideological myth that has been repeatedly rebutted by serious historians such as Serafín Fanjul. European institutions continue to perpetuate this fantasy because they are pursuing a political project: to legitimise a Europe without roots, without identity, and without memory.
This historiography that posits a negative self-identity is based on the construction of an idealized otherness, of an always virtuous Other. While French national sentiment emerged during the Hundred Years’ War, with a national consciousness forged in opposition to the English Other, deconstructionists worked to shape a collective memory based on negative founding myths, in which the Other systematically occupies the role of the hero or the ‘good’, relegating France and Europe to the role of the guilty.
From the disappearance of national narratives to the negation of European civilization
Faced with the rise of deconstructivist ideologies, pro-Europeans could have sought to construct a European narrative capable of uniting peoples around a common heritage. They had no shortage of points of reference: from the Greco-Roman heritage to the scientific and industrial revolutions, our history is rich in great collective achievements. They could have found positive reference points even among the concepts dear to the liberals, from the Enlightenment to the Declaration of Human Rights.
But instead, they embraced wokeness as their sole ideological matrix, gradually erasing nations and European civilization itself. However, a Europe without a sense of belonging, founded solely on self-hatred and repentance, is no longer Europe.
This desire to write a negative history of Europe illustrates the intellectual terrorism theorized by Jean Sévillia. The instrumentalisation of the past serves to demonise the enemy: the hated figures of yesterday are constantly resurrected to be pinned on the ideological opponents of the Left. Thus, any desire to control migration is immediately equated with racism and Reductio ad Hitlerum is applied, a tactic otherwise known as ‘Godwin’s Law.’
Overwhelmed by this damaging narrative, Europeans are then told they have no other path to redemption than the unlimited acceptance of migrants and adherence to the most radical dogmas of wokeism.
As a last step, Brussels technocrats, disconnected from the realities of their people, have labelled the patriots of European nations as enemies of Europe. Yet, we see that we are, in reality, much more European than they are. The report on European historical consciousness rejects both the idea of a European civilization and the “sacred cows” of national narratives, as if it were necessary to deconstruct all heritage for the sake of building a Europe without roots. Yes, Europe is a civilization in its own right, and not a mere market of rootless, interchangeable consumers, as they would have us believe.
In a changing world, it is essential to cultivate a European civilisational consciousness, but this must neither deny our heritage nor erase our national histories. On the contrary: it must complement them, in a positive and unifying way.
Together with our European allies, we are reclaiming our history and our heritage. The contribution of the French and Europeans to humanity is unparalleled. While our history does have its dark sides, it is above all an epic of creation, invention, and grandeur. It is time to rediscover the pride in being who we are.
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