Fnac retreats and returns to sell anti-fascist game criticized by the far right in France

The board game “Antifa”, created by an anti-fascist collective, had been pulled from the shelves of the French chain of stores after protests by several politicians from the far-right National Reunion (RN) party and a French police union. On the night of Tuesday (29), Fnac announced that it returned to sell the product, claiming that “it has no element that prevents its commercialization”. The RN launched this Wednesday morning (30) a boycott campaign against stores that sell the game.

The sale of “Antifa” had been suspended on Monday (28). In a statement, Fnac explained that its teams “had been alerted by some customers” about the game’s content. The controversy was launched by the SCPN (Union of National Police Commissioners), which, together with a photo of the product box, protested against Fnac on Twitter, last Saturday (26). “Fnac, what do you have to say for highlighting the antifas, who break, set fire, attack you in the demonstrations?”, He published.

The chain of stores indicates that 🇧🇷he was unaware of the exact content of the game and therefore suspended the sale as a precaution until a detailed analysis could be carried out”.

This Wednesday morning (30), the vice-president of the National Assembly, Louis Aliot, launched a boycott campaign.

“I ask consumers to be responsible and stop going to stores that sell the game “Antifa”, published by Libertalia,” said Aliot, who is also the mayor of Perpignan, in an interview with the RMC-BFMTV channel.

‘Play against the extreme right’

“Racist statements, homophobic demonstrations, fascist violence, enough: play against the extreme right!”, proposes “Antifa – The Game”, which was once again sold by Fnac stores. The packaging explains that the cooperative simulation game accepts from two to six participants each game.

“Box 1: Blockade a university; Box 2: “I beat up a right-wing militant”; Box 3: “I attack a National Rally rally”, Box 4: “I throw a Molotov cocktail at the police. Fnac, aren’t you ashamed?”, tweeted the far-right deputy, Grégoire de Fournas, calling for the withdrawal of the game. The politician uttered a racist sentence in the French Assembly in early November.

“To highlight the antifas, this rabid group that uses violence only to attack our democracy and the best that we have in our country… Absolutely scandalous!” tweeted another deputy of the National Meeting, Victor Catteau.

Game maker and creator protest

The independent publisher Libertalia, responsible for making the game, as well as the collective La Horde, creator of “Antifa”, denounced being victims of censorship, after “lying allegations by the extreme right”. On its website, the publisher presents “Antifa – The Game” as “a simulation and management game” in which participants embody “a local anti-fascist group”, putting into practice “actions that demand time, means and a little organization “.

In an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, Hervé de la Horde, author of the game, defended himself against the accusations of the extreme right, stating “the initiative to demonize the antifas”. “At no time does the game incite people to be attacked. There may be damage to property, but never to people,” he says.

Libertalia and many internet users protested against Fnac’s decision to remove the product from the shelves. The controversy brought notoriety to the game. About 4,000 copies of the new edition of “Antifa” that went on sale on the publisher’s website a month ago sold out quickly.