One of France’s most influential living philosophers has been prevented from entering the UK by the British government.
Renaud Camus was due to speak in the UK at a conference this week when his visa was revoked by the UK government, which said in an email to Camus that his presence in the UK was “not considered conducive to the public good.”
Camus is most famous—and controversial—for coining the term “the Great Replacement” to describe the systematic replacement of Western populations with non-Western immigrants. Contrary to mainstream media portrayals of this “conspiracy theory,” Camus has never claimed the Great Replacement is a process being driven by a single group of people.
Instead, Camus blames the Great Replacement on the spread of an attitude he calls “replace-ism,” which strips the individual citizens of Western nations of their unique identity and makes them appear as identical units that are interchangeable with other people from around the globe. Camus attributes the development of this idea to the decline of religion, democracy, industrialisation and mass entertainment, among other factors.
Speaking to Britain’s GB News on Friday, Camus said of the Home Office’s decision to prevent him from entering the UK, “I was sort of amused.”
“I very much like England and, of course, in my idea England has been the country of free speech par excellence.
“It’s just sort of amusing to be banned for saying what I like to say in the conference in England.”
He added: “I was probably banned because they thought I was an adversary to what is going on in this country now, which I am very much.
“I think what is going on in England as what is going on in France or any of the western countries is a crime.
“I disagree very much with all of these governments and it’s not very surprising that they see me as an adversary, I am very much.”
Vauban Books, the independent publisher of Camus’ work in English, said: “The decision to bar Renaud Camus from the UK is only further confirmation that that country has abandoned the most basic principles of liberal democracy.
“Camus is one of our greatest living writers and will be remembered as such by posterity. The Starmer government, by contrast, will be remembered – if it’s remembered at all – only for its serial betrayals and profound mediocrity.
“Here as elsewhere, it has inadvertently shown just how precious Camus’ voice is, now more than ever.”
The state of free speech in the UK has received renewed focus since Donald Trump’s victory in last year’s election, with the new President, and especially his Vice President, JD Vance, making the promotion of free speech a cornerstone of US foreign policy vis-à-vis Europe.
At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vice President Vance told Europe’s politicians that the greatest threat to Europe lay not outside its borders, from adversaries like China and Russia, but from within. He blamed Europe’s leaders for retreating from the fundamental values that have made European civilization great.
During the election campaign, Vance also suggested that America would withdraw support for Europe if its leaders pressed ahead with attempts to censor US social-media giants, especially Twitter.
The Home Office has refused to comment on its decision to block Camus from entering the UK.
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