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Political extremism at the local and regional level: the Mayor of Athens answers hatred with solidarity  [12/11/2013]

Directly confronted with the rise of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, the Mayor of Athens, Yiorgos Kaminis, is responding to its provocations with �the law and solidarity�. On 30 October 2013 he took part in a debate organised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on extremism at the local and regional level, and presented his City�s actions geared to countering the influence of this party. While political extremism takes a variety of forms, from �presentable� discourse to clandestine action by ultra-violent splinter groups, it invariably feeds on perceived threats to the national identity which the traditional parties often have difficulty countering. Magali Balent, a specialist in extremism and nationalism at the Robert Schuman Foundation (France), painted a picture of the nationalist and protest parties and movements which are developing throughout Europe, far from being confined to the countries in crisis. 
 

Extr�misme politique au niveau local et r�gional : � Ath�nes, la mairie r�pond � la haine par la solidarit�  [12/11/2013]

Directement confront� � l�ascension du parti n�o-nazi grec Aube dor�e, le maire d�Ath�nes, Yiorgos Kaminis, r�pond � ses provocations par � le droit et la solidarit� �. Participant, le 30 octobre 2013, � un d�bat organis� par le Congr�s des pouvoirs locaux et r�gionaux du Conseil de l�Europe sur l�extr�misme au niveau local et r�gional, il a pr�sent� les actions men�es par sa ville pour contrer l�influence de ce parti. Si l�extr�misme politique rev�t de nombreuses formes, depuis le discours � pr�sentable � jusqu�aux actions clandestines de groupuscules ultra-violents, il se nourrit toujours de peurs identitaires auxquelles les partis traditionnels ont souvent du mal � r�pondre. Sp�cialiste des extr�mismes et des nationalismes � la Fondation Robert Schuman (France), Magali Balent a dress� un tableau des partis et mouvements nationalistes et protestataires qui se d�veloppent dans toute l�Europe, bien au-del� des seuls pays en crise.