To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
REPORTERS © Studio Graphique, France Médias Monde
12:53
Issued on: 02/01/2026 - 11:46
From the show
Reading time 1 min
Across England, a new wave of nationalist activism is reshaping the political landscape. From demonstrations outside asylum-seeker hotels to mass rallies drawing tens of thousands in London, groups draped in Union Jacks and St George's Cross flags are making their presence felt. FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali and Claire Paccalin report.
They say they're defending their identity and Christian values against what they see as unchecked immigration and cultural erosion. But these English nationalists' methods – confrontational street protests, social media campaigns, and increasingly mainstream political momentum – are causing divisions and raising questions about who gets to define patriotism.
Local residents, business owners and even some who would proudly display the flag themselves, say the groups are spreading hate and weaponising national symbols.
Watch moreBritish voters divided over immigration as Reform UK soars in the polls
This investigation takes you inside the movement, from nighttime flag operations in a Birmingham suburb to baptisms in a canal preached as acts of national revival, revealing a country grappling with its identity in an age of anxiety.
English (US) · 