# Fox Investigation Maps 287 Groups, Including 50 Antifa Cells, Behind France's Weekend Protests

Fox News Digital says the network behind Saturday's 'Acte II' demonstrations and an 'anti-fascist village' in Orleans has grown from 54 groups to 287. It reports 649 planned protests and organizers already eyeing Oct. 31, Nov. 5 and Nov. 20.

- Section: [World](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/world/)
- Published: 2026-10-23
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/fox-investigation-287-groups-50-antifa-cells-france-acte-ii-orleans-national-rally-congress/

France is bracing for a second weekend of unrest, and a Fox News Digital investigation says the organizing behind it is much bigger than first thought. The findings are Fox's own analysis of planning documents and social media posts.

The count. Fox identified 287 groups in the protest network. That is up from 54 named after last weekend's riots. Fox says 50 call themselves Antifa, 27 are communist, socialist, Trotskyist or revolutionary-left groups, and 24 are labor unions. Only 27 are student or youth organizations, even though the demonstrations are billed as being about youth education.

The two fronts. On Saturday, Oct. 24, organizers plan an "anti-fascist village" in Orleans, where Marine Le Pen's National Rally is holding its congress. Fox says a coalition called Ciao Fachos is behind it. Separately, nationwide protests called "Acte II" are meant to repeat last week's violence. Fox counts 649 planned actions as of early Friday, including at 21 train stations, three ports, two oil depots and one refinery.

The logistics. Fox points to buses leaving Marseille, Bagnolet, Saint-Denis, Stains and Tours for Orleans, with some seats free. One fundraising page had raised about $13,300 for materials and a sound truck. Fox says organizers have a central website of "calls, signatories, visuals," Signal channels, and outreach telling high school students "free places are for you."

What comes next. Organizers are reportedly already planning an "Acte III" for Oct. 31, a strike and blockade push for Nov. 5 and a Europe-wide action for Nov. 20. Fox also reports that a French administrative court overturned a Paris police ban on street protests, though the order was not made public and it is unclear whether it covers other cities.

Context. Fox notes that former FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in 2020 that Antifa is "a movement or an ideology" and not an organization, and says the picture in Europe is different, with groups openly using the name. Fox adds that the State Department designated four European groups linked to Antifa as terrorist organizations last November. A State Department assessment cited by Fox warns the weekend could see a "potentially more confrontational protest."

Note for readers: the groupings and the framing are Fox's. Many of the groups listed are unions, student bodies, and migrant-rights, environmental and other activist organizations. Being on Fox's list does not by itself show that a group backs violence.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/world/first-fox-50-antifa-groups-france-mobilize-growing-network-287-organizations-chaos-inc)