Rock Identitaire Français (RIF) was a musical movement of French Identitarians supported by various organizations close to nationalist movements in the Francosphere. Music from these movements is commonly referred to as Identity Rock.
The backbone of the first wave of Identitarian bands were Vae Victis and Île de France. Both bands' founding members Jean-Christophe Bru and Fabrice Lauffenburger were veterans of the French skinhead scene with their first musical foray being Ultime Assaut. Their music was typical for the French Oi! scene with the added twist of Post-Punk influences which were decidedly less common in the worldwide Rock Against Communism (RAC) scene. Although Ultime Assaut disbanded in 1992, Jean-Christophe and Fabrice Lauffenburger were far from finished.
In 1993, Jean-Christophe and Fabrice formed Vae Victis during their time as undergraduates, recruiting bassist Cathie Mollius and drummer Thibaud Lamy. Vae Victis was a firebrand Identitarian band whose members had ties to the French Third Position organization Nouvelle Résistance. Later on, the band would recruit Carine who would become their female lead singer and serve as an instrumental part of the band's identity:
https://youtu.be/4m67CKyPsew
https://youtu.be/DvgEuODudTY
In an interview with Tribune Musicale, Jean-Christophe stated that Vae Victis's aim was to bridge their ideological convictions with their passion for music. "We have always been fascinated by Alternative Rock bands from the 1980s. Despite the fact that the message they carried was [far from ours], we always considered their approach sincere and honest. In the face of the musical desert that has formed on the Nationalist scene, we wanted to create a new style that brings together musicians who could identify with the rebellious energy of Berurier Noir."
Lyrically speaking, RIF bands eschewed the racial political of the French RAC scene in favor of their identity as Frenchmen in the face of financialization of European society and the effects of globalization. They also were concerned with their identity as Frenchmen. Vae Victis would openly demonstrate their commitment to Catholicism and sing the heroes of the Paris Commune of 1871 as in the song "La Commune" which would later be famously covered by Peste Noire:
https://youtu.be/AoNXNU9DP3c
https://youtu.be/jGzKY0CdF-w
Around March 1995, Jean-Christophe and Cathie would leave Vae Victis and form the other most identifiable RIF band: Île de France (IDF).
IDF was probably the RIF band that most clearly paid tribute to the 1980s Alternative Rock scene both in sound and politically as well. Indeed, much of their music fiercely criticized capitalism and liberalism in general much more than any other band in their scene. Each release would contain several critiques of liberal society detailing the lengths to which capitalism has irreparably warped human relations. Taking on the sound of such bands as La Souris Déglinguée, Bérurier Noir, Camera Silens, Banlieue Rouge, Molodoï and seasoning it with funky riffs a la Red Hot Chili Peppers and the occasional traditional French folklore motifs, IDF clearly sounded quite distinct from much of their ideological brethren.
IDF were clearly looking to expand beyond their conservative and Nationalist base within the French right, proudly proclaiming to be neither left nor right and declaring solidarity and civic nationalism, addressing the representatives of the working class in their lyrics:
https://youtu.be/3-vjiBgmgek
https://youtu.be/UybRXvwb3PE
Bernd
2022-07-15 13:49:07 ⋅ 1y
No. 198455
https://youtu.be/UIxD1WjT8Rw
Bernd
2022-11-29 15:57:56 ⋅ 1y
No. 241095
Bernd
2022-11-29 16:47:16 ⋅ 1y
No. 241097
This song is so fucking good.
Bernd
2023-11-21 03:12:59 ⋅ 1w
No. 294046
RAC bernd where art thou 😥
