Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino's popular early 2000s dance hit, "L'amour Toujours" (Always Love) (LAT), began as a beloved party hit celebrating love and unity, which soared on the charts partly owed to its repetitive, recognizable chorus; the song earned six-figures for its composer and garnered hundreds of millions of views on music-sharing platforms. In recent months, however, the once-innocuous melody was misappropriated by German far-right circles, transforming it into an anthem with xenophobic and racist rhetoric.
Neo-Nazis first introduced the "repurposing" of the song in October 2023 at a local harvest festival in the country of Mecklenburg Vorpommern. The song has evolved into an anthem of rebellion against the mainstream and a vehicle for far-right politics since a Pentecost celebration at a trendy club in Sylt, a German North Sea Island that is synonymous with Germany's upper class. The slogan, "Deutschland den Deutschen – Ausländer Raus! ("Germans to the Germans – Foreigners Out"), has been inserted into the melody. The slogan has infiltrated the mainstream, with motivations varying between conviction and sheer rebellion. The song became more prominent when it was adopted by the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ "Stolzmonat" campaign, which used the song as a response to Pride Month in June, and then at the Euro Cup, held in Germany in July, when it was used to express national pride.
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A Troubling Metamorphosis
The appropriation of the dance hit, "L'amour Toujours," began with social media posts substituting altered lyrics to the original chorus. The new lyrics, which predominately circulated in neo-Nazi circles, include: "Deutschland den Deutschen – Ausländer Raus!" ("Germans to the Germans – Foreigners Out"). The new lyrics spread during a harvest festival last October 2023 in the Mecklenburg Vorpommern town of Berholz, where several patrons were filmed chanting the chorus loudly. The new lyrics gained increased notoriety when a video surfaced from a well-known "Pony Bar" in Sylt, during its annual Pentecost party, when patrons were filmed singing the chorus, accompanied by one patron performing the Hitler salute, which is banned in Germany, while simulating a mustache with his other hand. The video quickly went viral on TikTok and Instagram.
A German new-right channel published a snippet of the song on its YouTube channel. The channel is part of the new media universe, including a news magazine and broadcasting platform. The YouTube video shows the scene on October 14, 2023, at the harvest festival "Tanz unter der Erntekrone" in Bergholz. A group of people can be seen chanting the slurs "Deutschland den Deutschen – Ausländer Raus" while the original dance hit, "L'amour Toujours," played in the background.
The video shows locals, including neo-Nazi Julian Rodewald, son of the mayor of Pasewalk, at the harvest festival in Bergholz on October 14, 2023, chanting "Foreigners Out – Germany for the Germans" sung to the melody of DJ Gigi D'Agostino's party hit, "L'amour Toujours."
An ultranationalist blogger and conspiracy theorist posted a video on his Telegram account of the party during Pentecost weekend at the Pony club in Sylt. Several German millennials can be seen amid a crowd of patrons, chanting: "Foreigners Out – Germany for the Germans" while "L'amour Toujours" played in the background.
Strategic Cultural Infiltration: How the New Right Subtly Transforms Mainstream Culture
The LAT song, with its altered lyrics, has evolved into a symbol of right-wing extremism, frequently heard in TikTok videos and other platforms to present its message in a "fun" way. These videos often feature the song's melody with the altered lyrics set against the backdrop of large gatherings that exemplify how far-right metapolitics and counterculture are being integrated into the mainstream culture. This scenario reflects a strategic evolution by the new-right movement to subtly shift societal norms, without directly explicitly delineating a policy – an approach that stands in stark contrast to the more overt tactics of earlier neo-Nazi groups.
The political new right, which includes some prominent figures and groups, including the Identitarian movement and the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), as well as neo-Nazi groups, have adopted a method of cultural infiltration into the mainstream. Bergholz initially did not attract much media attention in October. However, that changed after the song was sung in Sylt. Sylt represents the upper middle to upper class of German society. These groups are not traditionally associated with the societal margins, where neo-Nazis would typically operate.
LAT's altered, xenophobic version resonates differently emanating from Sylt. The video sparked significant public outrage and backlash, while fueling various political agendas. It lent a sense of legitimacy to far-right propaganda and functioned as a means to exude a general sense of rebellion against mainstream, politicized wokeness, and more generally, the political system. Public reactions in response to the incident at the local harvest festival are being labelled "one incident of many." The LAT scandal underscores the shifting dynamics at the core of German society - namely, the mainstreaming of extremist ideologies, both voluntarily and involuntarily.
L'amour Toujours Chorus With Altered "Ausländer Raus" Lyrics Became The Ultimate Euro Cup Fan Anthem
The altered "L'amour Toujours" song has become a mainstream song at various Euro Cup gatherings throughout Germany, engaging not only Germans but also visiting soccer fans from across Europe. The song's viral chorus has led many to claim it as this year's ultimate summer hit amid its widespread recognition despite – or because of - its controversial, altered chorus. Once again, the song has revived its popularity from its 2000s success and has become even more recognizable owing to the "Sylt gate" video: 23 years after it first appeared, the dance hit is climbing German music charts.
A pan-European neo-Nazi hooligan channel posted a video where Dutch soccer fans are heard singing the "Ausländer Raus" chorus. The accompanying caption reads: "Support from Netherlands."
The channel posted a photo showing a group of people marching before Hungary's match against Germany. Among the crowd, a large placard of Gigi D'Agostino can be seen paired with the caption, "Free Gigi," referring to the DJ who plays the song. The accompanying caption reads: "19.06.2024 #EURO24 Hungarians before match with Germany on the flag 'Free Gigi', the DJ from the famous Ausländer Raus song (It's banned in Euros 24)"
A German-speaking neo-Nazi affiliated channel posted a video showing Hungarian football fans in Stuttgart chanting the LAT chorus. The channel wrote: "Free Gigi! The German-friendly (not FRG-friendly) supporters of the Hungarian national team are flying the flag in every respect in Stuttgart, where the European Championship match between Germany and Hungary is being played."
The channel continued: "The Magyars joyfully sing the well-known 'döp dö dö dö döp' by Gigi d'Agostino on their fan march to the stadium and demand 'Free Gigi!' on a banner. In this way, friendly foreigners are taking the Federal Republic of Germany's censorship and outrage policy for a ride, scoring point after point with the indigenous people of the host country."
Spanish football fans also marched through the streets, and many chanted the Gigi D'Agostino LAT chorus. The accompanying caption of the post reads: "Spanish football fans in Spain. They, like every other country, also do not want illegal aliens replacing them. AUSLANDER RAUS!!!"
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