From Paris to Berlin, the attempt on Chirac's life at Sunday's Bastille Day celebrations in Paris has left Europeans stunned.

Coming just weeks after the killing of right-wing populist Dutch parliament candidate Pim Fortuyn -- allegedly by a left-wing environmentalist -- news of the foiled shooting immediately raised the question of whether the recent success of right-wing populist parties at the polls across Europe has empowered the sometimes violent political margins.

Gunman Maxime Brunerie, 25, said he wanted to kill Chirac in order "to save France." Of course, it's safe to say that Brunerie -- as the member of several neo-Nazi groups and as a former candidate in Paris local elections for the far-right Mouvement Republican National (MNR) -- probably has a radically different idea of what is in France's best interests than Chirac.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sent Chirac a telegram expressing his outrage. "The extreme-right background to this atrocious act shows once again how seriously we must take this threat," he wrote.

Just how serious has the threat of right-wing and other political extremism in Europe become? In an interview with DW-WORLD, Professor Wilhelm Heitmeyer, director of the Interdisciplinary Institute for Conflict and Violence Research at the University of Bielefeld in Germany, suggested the attempt on Chirac's life appeared to be an isolated act. At the same time, he said right-wing extremist activity does appear to be on the rise in Europe.

Is the fact that right-wing populist groups are gaining in popularity with voters empowering right-wing groups?

The development of right-wing extremism differs across Europe. But we have noticed that in those countries where a right-wing position is also represented politically, there is a weaker tendency towards organized right-wing violence.

Sweden, for example, has no right-wing extremist parties. But it has a strong right-wing movement -- in my opinion, the most violent one in Europe. Austria, on the other hand, which does have right-wing populist political representation through Jörg Haider, has no such organized violent movements. I see a connection here.

How do you explain the rise of right-wing political movements?

It's important to stress that these politicians are right-wing populists, and not right-wing extremists. They use existing structures to mobilize the people and populism is truly rampant across Europe right now.

There are three main areas that these politicians focus on: the cultural domination by foreign influences, denationalization through the European Union and a resulting representation vacuum.

There has definitely been a hardening in right-wing violence, but without developing into right-wing terrorism. This could change, though, where there is easy access to illegal weapons, such as in Russia. We are already now seeing paramilitary groups there, like those found in the United States.

But in my opinion, right-wing extremist groups in Europe do not have the logistical capabilities to organize themselves into terrorist organizations - not yet.

So is the increased tendency towards right-wing violence a question of people feeling they are losing their political voice?

A lot depends on globalization. If it continues to develop the way it is and people's fears increase that a new capitalism will force them to lose their footing, then they tend to seek new security in groups.

For example, people here say: "You can take away my job, my home, my family, but not my identity as a German". And this can escalate dangerous developments in group identities.

Do you see the surge in right-wing violence as a signal that democratic structures are weakening?

There is no such thing as a non-violent society. But the point is this: How much violence is there. I see a close relationship between violence and integration. Where you see a high level of violence, there are also high levels of disintegration. This means people are lacking integration into society and feel they no longer have a voice. You can see this in the United States, for example.

The key is that integration tasks need to be solved – for everyone. Not just foreigners or visible minorities, but also homogenous members of society need to be integrated into society.