European elites decry the far right even as they champion Islamic migration whose violent outcome can't help but bring them to power. And they refuse to see the obvious contradiction. Their usual cry, here and everywhere else, is that the younger generation is more liberal and on their side.
Except that something happened in France.
Sébastien Faustini's decision to skip the firework display at the beach not only potentially saved his life — it steered his politics toward the far right.
The soft-spoken 18-year-old stayed home with his cousin and watched the Bastille Day display on TV, instead of heading to the Nice promenade as they'd planned on July 14.
A truck was driven into the crowd that night, killing 86 people.
"We could have been there," said Faustini, who is now forced to pass by the scene of attack daily on his way to university. "Every day that hits me."
Three weeks ago, he joined France's far-right National Front.
Faustini is far from alone. Many millennials are embracing the National Front — which boasts a founder who had been fined repeatedly for racism and anti-Semitism. They say recent terrorist attacks across Europe and high unemployment levels validate their personal views and the party's anti-immigration stance.
According to a report released by polling organization Odoxa on Dec. 16, the National Front is the political party with the most support among French people aged 18-34. Roughly one-in-five back it.
And when you consider that Muslim colonial populations in Western countries tend to have a higher percentage of under 30s, this becomes even more significant because it suggests that NF's support among millenials is, if anything, being understated among the native population.
Many young National Front activists interviewed by NBC News spoke at length about radical Islam and concerns about religion in France.
They want immigrants to assimilate to French culture, speak the language and even "eat French," eliminating halal as a meal option.
Manon Bouquin, a 24-year-old history student at the renowned Paris-Sorbonne University, joined the National Front two years ago.
Bouquin, who said she doesn't follow any religion, is concerned that mosques are being built in her hometown, in the capital's suburbs.
In terms of immigration, she would welcome Christians from the Middle East.
Ph.D. students Walid Chaiehloudj and Said Benkhalyl in Nice, France are of North African descent and both consider the National Front's policies to be "xenophobic."
They doubt that Marine Le Pen's plan to leave the European Union will work.
"Without the European Union, France isn't very important," Chaiehloudj said, adding that France would not remain a "major power."
That's about says it all.