If France’s political elite refuses to answer former MEP Philippe de Villiers’ call for a referendum on immigration, he warned the anger could spill into the streets, much like the UK’s protests against mass migration.
Launched on September 5, the petition rapidly snowballed, hitting 1.7 million names by September 20.
De Villiers, founder of the sovereigntist Movement for France, insists immigration is no longer “one issue among others” but the defining question that shapes them all.
“Millions of French people have signed and are demanding to be heard,” de Villiers declared in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche.
“If their voices are ignored by the occupant of the Élysée [Emmanuel Macron], then a new chapter will begin.”
The former MEP described the petition as the “French mirror of Britain’s grassroots revolt”.
De Villiers said his petition focuses on two “vital” demands: Halting uncontrolled immigration and breaking what he calls the stranglehold on free speech.
“In France, as in England, immigration has become a forbidden subject,” he warned.
The petition denounces the Schengen accords, mass regularisations and successive governments that have, in de Villiers’ words, organised “the disappearance of a people”.
A large number of protesters took to the streets of London for the Unite the Kingdom rally, spearheaded by anti-Islam campaigner and prominent right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.https://t.co/ghj9ccxWP1
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 15, 2025
Not everyone is convinced by the seemingly impressive signature count. The website hosting the petition, operated by the Lagardère Group, does not verify identities or email addresses, raising questions about its accuracy.
Left-wing MP Antoine Léaument went further, denouncing the petition as a “scam”.
He claims he never signed it, yet still received a confirmation email at his parliamentary address.
“This identity theft is punishable under article 226-4-1 of the penal code: one year in prison, €15,000 fine,” he said on September 22.
For de Villiers, the referendum on immigration is about ” democracy”.
He recalled 2005, when French voters rejected the proposed European Union Constitution, only for elites to ram it through theEuropean Parliament anyway.
“It was a democratic hold-up,” he said, framing the current immigration fight as part of the same struggle between the people and the ruling class.
