View source for La Meute

{{Short description|Québecois nationalist movement}}
{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}}
{{Expand French|topic=gov|La_Meute_(groupe)|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox political party
|name = La Meute
|logo = La_Meute_logo.png
|caption =
|website = {{URL|www.lameute-officiel.org}}
}}
'''La Meute''' ({{IPA|fr|la møt}}, "The Pack") is a [[Quebec nationalism|Québécois nationalist]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Société - |title=Extrême droite, populisme, néonazisme... petit guide pour éviter les amalgames |trans-title=The Extreme Right, Populism, Neo-Nazism... A short guide to avoiding mixing |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1050744/extreme-droite-populisme-neonazisme-guide-lexique |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=Radio-Canada.ca |date=17 August 2017 |language=fr-ca}}</ref> [[pressure group]] and [[identitarian movement]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Labranche |first=Michaël |title=Quand La Meute résonne dans le New York Times |language=fr-CA |trans-title=When La Meute echos in the New York Times |work=Le Journal de Québec |url=http://www.journaldequebec.com/2017/04/06/le-new-york-times-parle-dun-groupe-dextreme-droite-quebecois |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> fighting against [[illegal immigration]] and [[radical Islam]].<ref name="ICI.Radio-Canada.ca">{{Cite web|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1057836/mouvance-xtreme-droite-portrait-quebec-meute|title=La mouvance de l'extrême droite plus visible au Québec|last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca|first=Zone Société -|website=Radio-Canada.ca|language=fr-ca|access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2016/03/10/la-meute-contre-lislam-radical-sous-etroite-surveillance|title="La Meute" contre l'islam radical gagne du terrain|work=TVA Nouvelles|access-date=2018-05-24|language=fr-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=La Meute présente ses dix-sept revendications |trans-title=La Meute presents its 17 demands |url=http://le-peuple.ca/societe/article-2187-1523928453 |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=le-peuple.ca |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Promotion d'un groupe contre " l'islam radical " : un cadre de Saguenay rappelé à l'ordre |trans-title=Promotion of a group against "radical Islam": a Saguenay executive called to order |url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/info/videos/media-7599039/promotion-dun-groupe-contre-lislam-radical-un-cadre-de-saguenay-rappele-a-lordre |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=Radio-Canada |language=fr}}</ref> The group was founded in September 2015 in [[Quebec]] by two former [[Canadian Armed Forces]] members, Éric Venne and Patrick Beaudry.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Société - |title=43 000 membres pour le groupe d'extrême droite la Meute |trans-title=43,000 members for the extreme right La Meute |url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1004095/43-000-membres-pour-le-groupe-dextreme-droite-la-meute |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=Radio-Canada.ca |date=6 December 2016 |language=fr-ca}}</ref> Neither are members of the group anymore.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-01-16 |title=Le chef de La Meute démissionne |language=fr-ca |trans-title=La Meute's Leader sacked |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/fr_ca/article/3ddzj5/le-chef-de-la-meute-demissionne |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/divisions-au-sein-de-la-meute-d9f85aef15e564a61a82b5f7eae4bbd9|title=Divisions au sein de La Meute|date=2017-09-16|work=Le Soleil|access-date=2018-05-24|language=fr-CA}}</ref> In 2018 the goal of La Meute was to prevent the [[Quebec Liberal Party]] from winning the [[2018 Quebec general election]] (Which the Liberal party did lose).<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2018/04/16/la-meute-presente-son-manifeste-1|title=La Meute présente son manifeste|work=TVA Nouvelles|access-date=2018-05-24|language=fr-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Grondin |first=Marie-Renée |title=[AUDIO] La Meute lancera un manifeste la semaine prochaine |language=fr-CA |trans-title=[Audio] La Meute will launch its manifesto next week |work=Le Journal de Québec |url=http://www.journaldequebec.com/2018/01/31/audio-la-meute-lancera-un-manifeste-la-semaine-prochaine |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> La Meute does not plan to become a political party, but rather "to become large enough and organized enough to constitute a force that can't be ignored".<ref name="cbc.ca">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-far-right-la-meute-1.3876225|title=Inside Quebec's far right: A secretive online group steps into the real world {{!}} CBC News|work=CBC|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US}}</ref>
Most political observers identify La Meute as far-right.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/08/22/the-canadian-far-right|title=The Canadian far right|newspaper=The Economist|language=en|access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/out-of-the-shadows-inside-la-meute-1.4270835|title=Out of the Shadows: Inside La Meute {{!}} CBC News|work=CBC|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US}}</ref> The group rejects this.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> As of April 2018, the group has more than 41,000 members in its private [[Facebook]] [[Facebook group|group]], although some journalists believe there are only 4,000 to 5,000 members based on reports of numbers inflation by ex-members.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-01-04 |title=Les illusions et désillusions de La Meute, le "plus grand groupe d'extrême droite au Québec" |language=fr-ca |trans-title=The truth and lies of La Meute- "Quebec's largest extreme right group" |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/fr_ca/article/8qgjm4/les-illusions-et-desillusions-de-la-meute-le-plus-grand-groupe-dextreme-droite-au-quebec |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref>
In 2019, La Meute supported the New [[Coalition Avenir Québec]] (CAQ) government [[Bill 21]] which bars civil servants in ‘authority’, such as judges, prosecutors, police officers, teachers and school administrators from wearing religious symbols at work. The leader of CAQ sought to distance himself from the group.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/la-caq-la-meute-and-bill-21/ | title=La CAQ, la Meute and Bill 21 }}</ref><ref>https://ici-radio--canada-ca.translate.goog/nouvelle/1161800/laicite-projet-de-loi-caq-reaction-la-meute?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc</ref>
== Political position ==
Police officers,<ref name="ICI.Radio-Canada.ca"/> experts,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-03-21 |title=La Meute et les Soldiers of Odin chahutent un colloque sur l'extrême droite |language=fr-CA |trans-title=La Meute and the Soldiers of Odin heckle a conference on the extreme right |work=Le Soleil |url=https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/la-meute-et-les-soldiers-of-odin-chahutent-un-colloque-sur-lextreme-droite-77ab9d091b36704d77f20e2143f15339 |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> and the majority of journalists identify La Meute as far-right. The group is considered [[Islamophobia|islamophobic]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/martinpatriquin/quebec-la-meute|title=Inside The Secret Facebook Group Of Quebec's Far-Right "Wolf Pack" |last=Patriquin|first=Martin|date=2017-11-17|work=Buzzfeed News|access-date=2019-05-06|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-la-meute-far-right-1.4255193|title=How Quebec's largest far-right group tries to win friends, influence people |last=Montpetit |first=Jonathan|date=2017-08-21|work=CBC|access-date=2019-05-06|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Supremacism|supremacist]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/01/24/the-deadly-consequences-of-islamophobia-in-canada/|title=Opinion {{!}} The deadly consequences of Islamophobia in Canada|last=Shihipar|first=Abdullah|date=2018-01-24|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> [[Ultranationalism|ultranationalist]], or even [[Populism|populist]] by some.
La Meute is, according to Maxime Fiset, "on the limit of the spectrum of what is far-right"<ref name="Pas islamophobe, La Meute">{{Cite news |date=2017-07-19 |title=Pas islamophobe, La Meute? |language=fr-CA |trans-title=La Meute, Not Islamophobic? |work=Le Soleil |url=https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/pas-islamophobe-la-meute-61518974a806447a9e824bb4528b35fd |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> and corresponds to, according to David Morin, a "populist and nationalistic-identitarian far-right fringe".<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Société - |title=Démystifier l'extrême droite |trans-title=Demystifying the Extreme Right |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1051317/demystifier-extreme-droite-quebec-la-meute-discours-raciste |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=Radio-Canada.ca |date=20 August 2017 |language=fr-ca}}</ref> David Morin hesitates between the terms "[[Identitarian movement|identitarian]] far-right" and "[[right-wing populism]]", and notes there are "[[communicating vessels]]" between more radical groups, like <!-- {{ill|Atalante (Quebec)|lt=Atalante|fr|Atalante (groupe d'extrême droite)}} -->[[:fr:Atalante (groupe d'extrême droite)|Atalante]] and, sometimes, Storm Alliance.<ref name="Le Granby Express">{{Cite news |date=2018-01-31 |title=La Meute à Granby: les citoyens appelés à l'ouverture et à la vigilance |language=fr-FR |trans-title=La Meute in Granby: Citizens call for openness and vigilance |work=Le Granby Express |url=https://www.granbyexpress.com/meute-a-granby-citoyens-appeles-a-louverture-a-vigilance/ |access-date=2018-05-24 |archive-date=2018-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523174841/https://www.granbyexpress.com/meute-a-granby-citoyens-appeles-a-louverture-a-vigilance/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The group is often differentiated from [[Racism|racist]], supremacist, [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazis]] and [[Neo-fascism|neo-fascists]] groups by observers,<ref name="plate">{{Cite news |last=Meunier |first=Hugo |title=Je suis membre de La Meute depuis le début et c'est plate |language=fr-CA |trans-title=I've been a member of La Meute from the start, and it's boring |work=Le Journal de Montréal |url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/08/23/je-suis-membre-de-la-meute-mais-je-vais-sans-doute-me-faire-expulser-dans-5-4-3 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143942/http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/08/23/je-suis-membre-de-la-meute-mais-je-vais-sans-doute-me-faire-expulser-dans-5-4-3 |archive-date=2018-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Paré |first=Étienne |title=Le jour où j'ai été d'extrême-droite |language=fr-CA |trans-title=The day I was extreme right |work=Le Journal de Montréal |url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/06/19/le-jour-ou-jai-ete-dextreme-droite |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141635/http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/06/19/le-jour-ou-jai-ete-dextreme-droite |archive-date=2018-06-12}}</ref> experts,<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref name="Pas islamophobe, La Meute" /><ref name="Le Granby Express" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-05-01 |title=Extrême droite au Québec: un phénomène social et politique en croissance? |language=fr |trans-title=The Extreme right in Quebec, a growing social phenomenon |url=http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/article/2017/12/13/extreme-droite-au-quebec-un-phenomene-social-et-politique-en-croissance/ |access-date=2018-05-24 |archive-date=2018-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523173306/http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/article/2017/12/13/extreme-droite-au-quebec-un-phenomene-social-et-politique-en-croissance/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and journalists. [[Quebec police]] do not consider La Meute to be a threat.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-09-26 |title=Québec : montée des groupes d'extrême droite |language=fr |trans-title=Quebec: Rise in far-right groups |work=TV5MONDE |url=https://information.tv5monde.com/info/quebec-montee-des-groupes-d-extreme-droite-193920 |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> There is debate over whether "far-right" is the best descriptor for La Meute.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1051360/manifestations-quebec-la-meute-immigration|title=Après les affrontements à Québec, La Meute marche dans le silence|last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca|first=Zone Société -|website=Radio-Canada.ca|language=fr-ca|access-date=2018-05-25 |trans-title=After demonstrations in Quebec, La Meute walks in silence}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/world/americas/canada-quebec-nationalists.html|title=As Canada Transforms, an Anti-Immigrant Fringe Stirs|date=2017-01-31|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Crise">{{Cite news|url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/08/25/la-meute-en-crise-de-croissance-1re-partie|title=La Meute en crise de croissance (1re partie) |trans-title=La Meute in growth crisis|last=Ravary|first=Lise|work=Le Journal de Montréal|access-date=2018-05-25|language=fr-CA}}</ref><ref name="plate"/> Some believe we call them far-right "a bit foolishly",<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/06/19/le-jour-ou-jai-ete-dextreme-droite|title=Le jour où j'ai été d'extrême-droite|last=Paré|first=Étienne|work=Le Journal de Montréal|access-date=2018-05-25|language=fr-CA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141635/http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/06/19/le-jour-ou-jai-ete-dextreme-droite|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> declaring "it's difficult to find anything to condemn this group".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/08/22/la-meute|title="La Meute"?|last=Facal|first=Joseph|work=Le Journal de Montréal|access-date=2018-05-25|language=fr-CA}}</ref> Finally, some journalists oppose La Meute's public image to its private Facebook group.<ref name="iPolitics">{{Cite news|url=https://ipolitics.ca/2017/11/28/far-right-movement-getting-free-ride-quebec-media/|title=How a far-right movement is getting a free ride in Quebec media - iPolitics|date=2017-11-28|work=iPolitics|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US}}</ref>
La Meute rejects the "far-right" label<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Société - |title=La Meute se défend d'être un groupe d'extrême droite |trans-title=La Meute refutes far-right claims |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1015029/la-meute-extreme-droite |access-date=2018-05-24 |website=Radio-Canada.ca |date=5 February 2017 |language=fr-ca}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Entrevue avec un chef de Meute |language=fr |trans-title=Interview with a La Meute leader |work=L'Avantage Rimouski |url=https://www.lavantage.qc.ca/actualites/societe/2017/8/24/entrevue-avec-un-chef-de-meute.html |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> and is known to regularly delete overtly racist comments,<ref name="cbc.ca"/> or comments inciting violence.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Some journalists doubt this, arguing that the Facebook group shows "numerous references to [[Muhammad]] as a pedophile or rapist" and that it can be invalidated "by simply typing "pig" in the search bar".<ref name="iPolitics"/> La Meute is known to expel its members who are overtly racist.<ref name="Pas islamophobe, La Meute" /> La Meute's spokesperson, Sylvain Brouillette, identifies La Meute as [[Centre-left politics|center left]].<ref name="Crise"/>
==See also==
* [[Religious intolerance]]
* [[Identitarian movement]]
* [[Illegal immigration to Canada]]
* [[Radical Islam]]
* [[Roxham Road]]
* [[Islamophobia]]
* [[Far-right politics]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Hate in Canada}}
{{Quebec topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meute, La}}
[[Category:2015 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:2015 in Quebec]]
[[Category:Canadian far-right political movements]]
[[Category:Identitarian movement]]
[[Category:Politics of Quebec]]
[[Category:Quebec nationalism]]
[[Category:Anti-immigration politics in Canada]]
[[Category:Anti-immigration politics in Quebec]]
[[Category:Anti-Islam sentiment in Quebec]]
[[Category:Anti-Islam sentiment in Canada]]