Report Back on the May 18, 2026, Noise Party
On the morning of Monday, May 18, the Front antifasciste populaire organized a “noise protest” to counter ethnonationalist demonstration organized by Nouvelle Alliance—which has long claimed to be neither right-wing nor left-wing, but whose Journée nationale des patriotes demonstrations, curiously, attract only right-wing and far-right extremists. . . along with a few stray Stalinists (!).
It was a rainy but cheerful early morning—at least on the side that was having a party! On one side, a joyful celebration; on the other, a small group of guys who looked like they’d just come from a funeral, possibly because they’d spent the night out in the cold to make sure they could commemorate their “hero” Dollard des Ormeaux at the foot of the statue commemorating him, with heavy police protection. (Recall that Adam Dollard des Ormeaux was an unscrupulous young French settler who, after organizing an expedition in the spring of 1660 to seize Indigenous hunting spoils, led his group straight to their doom. Despite the pitiful nature of this story, des Ormeaux was elevated to the status of national hero by the clergy in the 19th century and later by the author of L’appel de la race, Canon Lionel Groulx.)
So there they were, pitifully huddled in the shadow of the Dollard des Ormeaux statue, waving the flags of “their” Quebec—which they claim will be a chaste, pure state, liberated from the wicked English. What else do these reactionary nationalists want to liberate Quebec from? Migrants, people of color, queer and trans people? Judging by their slogans and speeches, that’s exactly what their political project looks like. We wish them the best of luck, given that every year they need two to three times as many cops as activists just to hold their little peckerwood ceremony.
We, at least, were having a good time! There were about fifty of them at their peak, while there were at least four times as many of us really enjoying ourselves.
All they had on their side were empty words, worn out slogans, soggy flags, and a tense little leader yelling to himself, wondering which of his “friends” would be the next to stab him in the back. On our side, we had food, water, umbrellas, music, and, above all, the determination to stand up to the would-be fascists, armed with ideas as “extreme” as solidarity, equality, respect, and the joy of being together.
***
After a good hour of dancing and festivities on our side, the sun finally came out, and with it, the sad little ethno-twerps hit the road, safely escorted by the best security detail they could have hoped for: the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal.
Off they went to join the annual Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB) march at Laurier Park, which once again displayed a disheartening lack of principle by allowing the Nouvelle Alliance contingent to join the main procession with their flags, banners, and pathetic slogans, including “Homeland, Nation, Tradition.”
In the end, the “cordon sanitaire” between the SSJB march and our little operetta-style fascists amounted to nothing more than three cops on bikes cruising along at a leisurely pace between the two groups. The openly antisemitic leadership of the 1930s SSJB would have been proud of this fine display of unity!
It is worth noting, incidentally, that many participants in the SSJB march were more outraged by the presence of anti-fascist activists than by the fascists marching under the NA flags and the Carillon-Sacré-Cœur—a symbolic reminder of the dark era when the Catholic Church exerted its influence over the French-Canadian nation. So much for the secularism so dear to the PQ.
We were particularly surprised to see Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) marching in the same demonstration as people who loudly decry “migration overload” and “replacement immigration.” Does the woman who had a shitfit about a cardboard guillotine a few weeks ago really think it’s reasonable to march alongside people who want her to “remigrate”? It would be nice if, at some point, the so-called parliamentary left—which is anti-fascist when it suits them—pulled their heads of the sand, took a good look at what’s going on around them, and walked their talk.
The president of the SSJB, for her part, declined to comment. That’s not acceptable. This organization must take a clear and definitive stand on the presence of the far right in its march. The independence movement must not serve as a gateway to the legitimate political arena for far-right organizations, and genuine sovereigntists must not become lackeys who open the door for fascists.
We do, however, commend the efforts of activists from various backgrounds who tried to prevent NA from joining the rally at Laurier Park, whom the SPVM, with its legendary impartiality, blocked from leaving the park when the march was starting.
At the end of the day, it was still a lot of fun to mock NA, with their sad little faces. A lot of people on their side couldn’t help but tap a foot to the beat of our music! Next time, come dance with us! But please, leave behind your musty flags and your fantasies of purity and traditions to be revived at all costs! Pipe dreams of that sort will only make you miserable.
The right side is the side that’s having a party!
The Front antifasciste populaire