Roughly 400 far-right activists from across Europe convened in Gallarate, Italy, for a summit advocating 'remigration' of foreigners, including descendants of immigrants. The controversial gathering, originally banned in Milan, featured speakers decrying multiculturalism and warning of the 'extinction' of the West.
An estimated 400 far-right activists from Europe and beyond, campaigning against "Europe's colonization" and for the defence of the continent's "indigenous" population, called for the remigration of foreigners (including third-generation immigrants who are not "assimilated") as a solution to avoid the "extinction" of the West at the Remigration Summit held on May 17 at the Teatro Condominio Vittorio Gassman in the town of Gallarate near Varese.
The event took place following protests and a change of locations.
Gathering first banned by Milan mayor
Originally planned to take place in Milan, the summit was relocated after Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, publicly opposed the gathering. Andrea Ballarati, the Italian organizer, made a pointed reference to this during the event, stating ironically, “I want to thank the mayor of Milan because, without him, it would not have been possible to do this,” without mentioning Sala by name.
Media outlets were also thanked for their "defamatory campaign" against the summit. Thanks "to this publicity", stressed another organizer, Austria's Martin Sellner, quoting the announcement made after a conclave, "habemus (we have) won" (instead of "habemus papam"), claiming the event had been a success.
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Remigration as policy proposal
"Remigration means interrupting migration flows towards a country than can't stand them from all points of view, starting with the economic one," explained Ballarati, hailing centers like the ones opened by the Italian government in Albania last October.
"We ask the government to boost these procedures, which must not be interrupted by judges who are clearly ideologically biased," he added, referring to the fact that Italian courts have so far failed to validate the detention of migrants at the centres in Albania for the fast-track processing of asylum requests.
The centers have been turned into CPRs while the European Court of Justice is set to rule on referrals by the Italian courts over the cases.
Speakers, in addition to the video messages of the deputy leaders of the League party Roberto Vannacci and Silvia Sardone (the only ones who spoke in Italian), included different activists such as Germany's Lena Kotre of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek, who spoke about "rapes and genocides" by foreigners and stressed that, without remigration, "we ethnic Europeans will become a minority."
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Slogan 'Save our nation, remigration' chanted by participants
"Reimbursements for immigrants" to make them return to their home countries, insults against "cultural domination" and an alarming threat of "extinction" were some of the themes discussed by participants, many of whom were formally attired in elegant suits.
Flemish nationalist Dries Van Langenhove -- who has been sentenced to a year in prison for denying the Holocaust -- quoted Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban and asked participants to chant the slogan "Save our nation, remigration".
From the United States, Jacky Eubanks, formerly a Trump-endorsed candidate for Michigan's legislature, said "American policies must not only consist of mass deportations but include a complete moratorium on all immigration until assimilation".
Ireland's John McLoughlin of the National Party and Portugal's Pedro Faria, from Chega, urged for a "call to arms of consciences".
France's Jean-Yves Le Gallou, a former member of the National Front who is now with the far-right Reconquête, spoke about an "indispensable" remigration to be carried out gradually, including second and third-generation immigrants who "are not assimilated and are hostile". In this case "they must be expelled and deprived of citizenship", he said.
The objective now, explained Sellner, is to make remigration increasingly popular so that "all right-wing parties request it and all governments of Europe implement it", because in this sector, Europe's union is essential, according to far-right nationalists. After the final photo, participants agreed to meet again for a new Remigration Summit in 2026.