Over the last decade, Europe’s political establishment has pursued an agenda of mass immigration while neglecting the welfare of its own citizens. The European Right has either contributed to this failure or warned, with varying degrees of success, against unchecked migration and the erosion of national sovereignty. In recent weeks, the consequences of these policies have been on display in the streets of Paris, Milan, and other cities across Europe.

Though the unrest in France emerged largely amid grievances over the rising cost of living, deteriorating public services, and underfunded schools, the demonstrations quickly gave way to violence. Immigrants, Islamists, and organized radical-left activists are committing arson, looting, attacking the police, and breaking into buildings. This domestic terrorism, which is occurring in some of Europe’s most beautiful cities, is a unique evil, perpetrated by those united in hatred of their neighbors and their countries’ heritage. These revolutionary movements are not seeking to reform policy or institutions, but to delegitimize the very civilization those institutions embody.

For years, European political elites have welcomed unchecked immigration and social disorder. Young Europeans, particularly those in Western Europe, have come of age living under institutions that repeatedly fail to provide the security, opportunity, and public services they were promised.

If the violent and disturbing consequences of the past weeks prove anything, it is that Europe’s Right must unite around remigration as its central political objective. Decisive action is particularly needed, because violence is bound to worsen in the coming months and years if the situation continues.

Demographic replacement will inevitably result in the native population being vastly outnumbered. Statistical projections recently published by the Institute for Remigration anticipate profound changes in the composition of nearly all European societies. At the current rate, the tipping point in France is less than 25 years from now; for Belgium, it is predicted in 2044, for Germany in 2045, and for Italy in 2069.

With remigration, these demographic shifts can be reversed, and they must be. If this is not the central item on the European Right’s agenda, Europe will cease to be Europe. Quick removals (particularly of convicted criminals), denaturalizations, and detention have all been proposed by various Right and center-right parties. But those parties often fail to act effectively because either another agenda item divides them or a certain stipulation is considered too radical. No more.

Saving Europe will not only require historic unity on remigration but unapologetic, robust political will. The inevitable leftist political and metapolitical resistance cannot become permanent excuses for inaction.

In both policy and practice, the Trump Administration’s immigration policy is instructive. Not only are U.S. border encounters at all-time lows (August 2026 saw 96% fewer encounters than August 2023), but releases of illegal aliens into the nation’s interior have been at zero for 17 months, and deportations have reached three million. Importantly, legal immigration has effectively been cut in half, and travel bans have resulted in steep declines in non-immigrant visas.

Even when faced with recalcitrant countries, the Trump Administration has defiantly exercised leverage and proactively negotiated to resume deportation flights. In both the president’s first and second terms, the resistance he faced at nearly every level has required real leadership and political will to deliver on the promises he made to the American people. Enforcing immigration policy is a matter of will. It is also a matter of aligned movements in Europe and the U.S. working together to achieve what Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently described in Athens as “our shared ambition to secure Europe’s borders from the threats of mass migration.”

Though Europeans face public debt crises, poor job prospects, alarming housing shortages, and a multitude of other problems, mass immigration compounds these challenges and threatens the stability of their countries. Leaders on the Right must therefore develop a common governing project to remedy this situation. No doubt, disagreements will continue over economic policy and relations with Ukraine, Israel, and other countries. Yet the Right need not resolve every disagreement before acting on the issue that will determine Europe’s future.

The people need political leaders willing to do what it takes to change the course of their countries. The opportunity remains—but it will not remain indefinitely.

Four weeks ago, the streets of Paris were filled with nearly a million faithful praying and celebrating Mass with the Holy Father. Paris inspired hope in the rest of the world, displaying a conviction about the shared inheritance that animated Europe and still matters today. Whether this inheritance endures depends on Europe’s leaders having the courage to defend and renew it.

Nearly one century ago, Pope St. Pius X wrote that “the subtle raising of multiple questions and the most eloquent dissertation on rights and duties matters little, if all this does not end in action.” Europe’s Right has spent years warning of the consequences of political inaction. Its task now is to act.