Are Rennes and Guingamp Football Fans Shifting Toward the Far Right?

Ideological fractures challenge French club cultures

Once celebrated for inclusive atmospheres and community-focused fan cultures, the ultra supporter groups of French football clubs En Avant Guingamp and Stade Rennais are experiencing internal ideological friction as former members report a rising far-right presence within their terraces, according to investigations published by the independent media outlet Basta.

Shifting dynamics inside the Kop Rouge

At En Avant Guingamp, where home fixtures at Stade du Roudourou draw crowds exceeding the town’s resident population, long-standing fans say the primary supporter organization, the Kop Rouge, has changed significantly over recent years.

Vincent, a supporter who has attended matches at the stadium for 30 years, told Basta that he perceived a hardening of attitudes and a loss of traditional values that once defined the group.

Another fan, Erwan, noted that political tensions came to a head during an April fixture against Amiens. A fight broke out in the stadium between masked hooligans and a group of supporters displaying antiracist and antifascist symbols.

According to accounts gathered by Basta, stadium security intervened by instructing the targeted antifascist supporters to leave rather than the aggressors. This prompted the bureau of the Kop Rouge to temporarily suspend its operations.

Court convictions and violent clashes

The ideological conflicts extend beyond internal terrace disputes into criminal proceedings.

On December 4, 2024, a Guingamp hooligan and five associates associated with the far-right political spectrum were convicted by a court on charges of aggravated violence.

The charges stemmed from an attack on an antifascist festival in Saint-Brieuc in July 2023, where weapons including telescopic batons and brass knuckles were used, as reported by Basta.

Terrace solidarity and stadium bans

During court proceedings, the defendants acknowledged meeting through football networks.

Following their convictions, which included suspended prison sentences and stadium barring orders, banners reading IDS — standing for Interdits de stade présents, or stadium-banned individuals present — were displayed along the barriers of the terrace.

These displays showed support for the condemned individuals, illustrating the deepening split within the fan base regarding political extremism and stadium violence.