Swiss group hosted French Holocaust deniers at Vaud gathering

A Swiss nationalist group hosted three French far-right figures, including convicted Holocaust denier Vincent Reynouard, at a gathering in the canton of Vaud, SRF reported. The speakers delivered openly antisemitic remarks and said they felt comfortable in Switzerland.

The meeting took place in mid-July under the theme “What future for white Europe?” It was organised by Résistance helvétique, a discreetly operating Swiss group.

Local authorities in the municipality of La Chaux, Vaud, stopped the event from taking place at its originally planned venue by cancelling the hall rental. The speakers and audience eventually gathered outside a mountain hut in Saint-Cierges, more than 20 kilometres from Lausanne.

Reynouard, who openly denies the Holocaust, was first convicted in 1992. In early June, a Paris court sentenced him to 10 months in prison. He has appealed, so the ruling is not yet final.

Another speaker, Henri de Fersan, is the author of a fictional work depicting a world ruled by National Socialism. He describes himself as a supporter of former Spanish dictator Franco. He told RTS, the French-language Swiss broadcaster, that he had travelled to Switzerland to escape monitoring by French authorities ahead of the presidential elections.

The event gained wider attention in early September when recordings of the speeches were posted on social media. The videos featuring the prominent speakers received between 17,000 and 23,000 views, while earlier posts by Résistance helvétique had attracted only a few hundred.

Some of the speeches were openly antisemitic. Jérôme Bourbon, who has also been convicted in France of denying crimes against humanity and inciting hatred against Jews, said: “I do not know whether this is done here in Switzerland, but I hope it will not be like in France. They take children to Auschwitz or to the Holocaust memorial to turn them into servants of Jews.” Bourbon did not respond to RTS inquiries.

At RTS’s request, Switzerland’s Federal Commission against Racism reviewed the videos. It said some remarks could fall under the country’s anti-racism law and should be examined by the competent authorities. The law specifically punishes denying, grossly minimising or justifying genocide or other crimes against humanity. Representatives of Résistance helvétique could also be covered by the provision as the event’s organisers and distributors of the videos.

The Vaud prosecutor’s office said no investigation had been opened in connection with the gathering. Cantonal police said they were informed at about 9.30pm and found the conference had ended when they arrived. They said they had identified no offence.

Damir Skenderovic, a contemporary history professor at the University of Fribourg who specialises in the far right, said the case illustrated Switzerland’s particular role for Europe’s far right. Far-right concerts and conferences are regularly held in Switzerland, he said, because participants believe they can organise such events there without intervention from the authorities.