First, we took to the streets to face the extreme right head on
We start in Germany. At the beginning of the year, the extreme right was riding high in the polls -- but as they wanted to kick off their EU elections campaign, we were awaiting them with a gigantic billboard truck, highlighting their ties to dictators.
The police almost shut us down, but we made it onto the main evening TV news – getting our message to over 10 million viewers!
And that set us on a roll.
In Spain, as far-right leaders from across the globe gathered for a
‘Summit of Hate’, we helped bring together thousands in a huge rally showing that people everywhere oppose their vicious agenda -- and made headlines across the world. And we pressed on: from
covering Marseille with guerilla posters and organising gatherings across France, to giant mirrors in Berlin showing terrifying quotes reflecting the true horror of far-right hate.
We amplified powerful voices and reached millions
In Poland, we brought together
four powerful freedom fighters from four generations, releasing a joint letter in the country's major newspaper, calling on people to vote against far-right extremists. It was the first time the country saw such an intergenerational call, and their message of unity echoed on social media across the country. In the end, the far-right party didn't win in Poland - for the first time in ten years!
Then, just days before the elections,
we organised a huge press conference in Berlin with Holocaust survivors calling on young voters to vote against the far right: “We couldn’t prevent it back then. But you can today.” The room was full of journalists, but completely silent as they spoke. That same day, their plea was in media outlets across Europe and globally: Guardian, Le Monde, Die Zeit, CNN. Meanwhile, we reached tens of millions on social media from TikTok to Instagram!
And as votes were counted on the night of European Elections, we brought
joy, fun and tears directly to the heart of Brussels with choirs outside the European parliament singing ‘Bella Ciao’, the anthem of resistance against fascism. A video of the moment went viral and we created another splash in the media.
But we didn’t stop there!
After the elections, there was still a threat that the far right could be given too much power. To help prevent that,
we brought together people who lived and suffered under far-right governments in Poland, Italy, and Hungary ... and are standing up against these extremist forces!
This group of survivors travelled with us to Brussels to
deliver an open letter warning EU leaders not to do deals with the far right. Then, something truly powerful happened: in meeting after meeting,
the survivors moved politicians to tears. They told them what life is really like under the far right, and urged them to take a stance for the most threatened.
And we kept going, last stop: France!
In France, our investigations
exposed the threat of Marine Le Pen’s party to democracy - from their attacks on women’s rights to their links to violent groups. We published report after report and partnered with public figures, former ministers, and famous campaigners to call for people to count their vote against their hateful agenda.
And when President Macron called a surprise election, and almost everyone thought the far right would win,
we helped bring together dozens of civil society groups, calling on progressive forces to unite against the far-right frontrunners! We co-organised massive women's marches and helped pressure democratic candidates to join forces to stop the far right winning in the final round of the election.
And it worked! Le Pen came third in the election!
