Anarchy 2023

Anarchy 2023, or the International Anti-Authoritarian Gatherings of 2023, was an anarchist gathering organized from 19 to 23 July 2023 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, by the International of Anarchist Federations (IAF) and other organizations. Bringing together between 4,000 and 6,000 anarchists from every continent, it is possibly the largest anarchist gathering of the 21st century.

Saint-Imier is a significant town in the history of the anarchist movement: indeed, after the Hague Congress (1872), which saw the division between anarchists and Marxists, the former gathered their forces in this commune at the Saint-Imier Congress, founding the Anti-Authoritarian International there. This event is often considered the birth of anarchism. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of this congress, a gathering was organized in Saint-Imier, intended to bring together, coordinate, and allow meetings between anarchists from around the world.

The gathering was self-managed on many aspects, such as the kitchen, which served tens of thousands of meals throughout the event. Hundreds of stands, activities, and concerts were organized, and anarchists discussed several important points of contemporary anarchism, such as Rojava, anarcha-feminism, climate justice, and the fate of anarchist detainees in solitary confinement in Italy. Russia's invasion of Ukraine stood out as a frequently discussed topic.

Conflicts also arose during the gathering, for example, regarding the Francophone Anarchist Federation (FAF) stand's decision to continue selling L'Impasse islamique, a book written by Hamid Zanaz with a foreword by Michel Onfray, someone associated with the far right. These conflicts led to physical confrontations between FAF members and young anarchist women displeased about the issue.

Generally, the residents of Saint-Imier were satisfied with the event and quite proud of their commune's anarchist heritage.