Roots, trees, and the re-enchantment of nature: The French new right's eco-political utopia

People on the radical right are often considered to be climate deniers. Today, however, the new right in France has embraced a radical, ecological agenda and set out to experiment with traditional, agrarian ways of life. This paper asks how the new right currently revives a far-right tradition of ecological thought and how they practice this ecological vision. To move forward with their ethno-ecological utopia and salvage European civilization, they turn away from national politics and create local communities or ‘identitarian sanctuaries’. This article explores the new right’s practiced eco-utopias from three different angles. First, it shows how the ‘native soil’ and notions of ‘rootedness’ are pivotal for their understanding of identity. Second, it examines how the new right reframes ‘biodiversity’ as a plurality of European cultures, currently threatened by global capitalism and unchecked immigration. Finally, the article argues that the new right’s critique of modernity is not only political but also epistemic. To break free from modern scientific worldviews and enable a re-enchantment of nature, they turn to fantasy literature as well as Romantic and neo-pagan spiritualities.