France, which is currently holding the presidency of the European Union (EU), is gearing up for presidential elections, with the first round scheduled for April 10. The results are expected to be declared on April 24. With just a few months to go, at least 40 candidates, including incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, Eric Zemmour, Marine Le Pen, and Valerie Pecresse, are expected to compete for the top post.
Despite having different political ideologies, most presidential candidates are united on their position on Islam, which at times tends to veer towards Islamophobia. While the topic of secularism and the role of Islamism in France has become a popular point of discussion among French politicians, their obsession with the topic has led to an increase in Islamophobic attitudes in France. Therefore, it is necessary to ask — why are most French presidential candidates united over the issue of Islamophobia and their speeches and electoral debates often centred around Islam and radicalism.
Muslims in France make up about 5 to 10% of the French population. As of 2020, the total population of France amounted to 65.12 million people, with 5.4 million Muslims, the largest number of Muslims in Europe. Despite hosting the largest Muslim minority in Europe, Muslims do not feel safe in France.
France has recorded a sharp increase in the number of Islamophobic incidents. According to the European Islamophobia Report 2020, the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) reported a 77% increase in anti-Muslim sentiments in 2019 in France. While the CCIF reported 1,043 Islamophobic incidents, France’s Ministry of Interior reported only 154 Islamophobic incidents.
Last year, the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) recorded 1,043 Islamophobic incidents in France, representing a 77% increase since 2017. Instead of addressing the increase in hate crime, the French interior minister has announced plans to dissolve CCIF.
— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) November 21, 2020
Likewise, according to the National Observatory of Islamophobia, the country recorded 235 attacks on Muslims in 2020 compared to 154 in 2019. There was a 14% increase in Islamophobic acts and a 79% increase in threats. Additionally, attacks on mosques also increased by 35% in the same year. A survey conducted by Fondation Jean Jaurès in 2019 stated that 42 % of French Muslims claimed they experienced discrimination based on their faith.
The rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discourse comes after a wave of terrorist attacks, including the killing of Samuel Paty and the Chalie Hebdo attack in 2020 and the state emergency in 2015-16. On November 13, 2015, multiple attacks took place in Paris, which killed over 120 people and injured over 200. The attacks were claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS). Following the attacks, a state of emergency was declared by then-President François Hollande.
An 18-year old refugee from Chechnya beheaded history teacher Samuel Paty for displaying the caricature of Prophet Muhammad and passing comments while teaching a class on freedom of expression. According to a survey conducted by Ifop in partnership with CNews and Sud Radio, “87% of French people say they agree with the fact that secularism is today in danger in France and 79% that Islamism has declared war on the nation and the Republic,” following the beheading of Samuel Paty.
In the same year, a stabbing attack took place near the former office of Charlie Hebdo for republishing the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Following the Charlie Hebdo attack, France recorded 54 anti-Muslim incidents after the Charlie Hebdo attack.
Moreover, a recent survey carried out by CEVIPOF, the political research centre of Sciences Po, and the polling institute OpinionWay stated that “63% of French people believe that there is too much immigration to France and 61% think that Islam represents a threat to the Republic.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an elected representative of Haguenau, Christian Steinmetz, spoke of women wearing headscarves on the way to the pharmacy on Facebook. Under this post, his friends/followers resorted to Islamophobic hate speech, saying, “You should have eliminated them all at once,” wrote a user wrote. Another person tweeted, “I have weapons in case Christian!!!! If they don’t understand it differently.”
A French Muslim, Haydar Delikaya, while speaking to TRT World, said, “And I, the Muslim, who has been working for years, who pays his taxes, I do not feel protected by my President, I do not feel protected by my prime minister and the law of 1905, which is the law of secularism, which should protect me. Well, we want to call it into question. So yes, this is serious.”
How France 🇫🇷 polices Muslim women's bodies:
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) January 20, 2022
2004 - Hijab Ban enacted
2011 - Niqab (face covering) Ban enacted
2019 - Mothers w/ 🧕 can't attend school trips
2022 - Hijab banned in Sports
The architecture of Islamophobia in France is built on the bodies of Muslim women.
Responding to the general impulse, French President Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique en Marche (LREM) party introduced the anti-separatism law in 2020 to gain popularity and advantage of public sentiments following the terrorist attacks. The 2020 law allows local authorities to dissolve Islamic organisations without due process or legal proceedings, expands the headscarf ban, and bans home-schooling.
Thousands marched against the controversial law and chanted slogans against Islamophobia. The organiser of the demonstration, Omar Slaouti, condemned the controversial law and rebuked the French government for its colonial and neo-colonial approach. Slaouti added that he would continue to protest and would not allow the use of racist and Islamaphobic remarks to attract votes for the upcoming presidential elections. Similarly, another protester, Ismael al-Hajri, condemned the government’s attacks on Islamaphobic policies.
🚨 NEW VIDEO as the French parliament this week approved the new ‘Republican Values Law’, targeting ‘Islamist separatism’.
— Harry Fear (@harryfear) July 29, 2021
Watch on Facebook: https://t.co/j30oH45cBw
Watch on YouTube: https://t.co/f8AwipTlWr#LoiSeparatisme #islamophobie #France@yasserlouati 🧵 pic.twitter.com/hw9ma4eKcx
Reacting to the adoption of the anti-separatism law, French human rights activist Maria De Cartena said, “The French state has a kind of imperialist, colonialist practice. We want to dominate Muslims, to control them, to tell them how they should live and act, how they should understand religion, how they should dress. When they directly attack the Qur’an, hadith, and sunnah, they are attempting to destroy the whole world and Muslims. They adopted a law that legalized Islamophobia.”
Furthermore, far-right politician Marine Le Pen’s Islamophobia has been regarded as extreme. But following the 2020 terror attacks, Le Pen has been gaining popularity, with centrists adopting her xenophobic ideology to gather more votes. Similarly, a new entry to the presidential race, rightwing TV pundit Eric Zemmour has also adopted the Islamophobic rhetoric. Zemmour has repeatedly expressed concern over immigration and established himself as an anti-Islamic and anti-immigration politician.
Macron is yet to declare his candidacy for the French presidential elections officially. Despite this, he seems to be leading the first few rounds of public polls, according to Politico research. Check the graphic below for a detailed comparison between the 2017 and 2022 first and second rounds of polls.
The President of the French council of the Muslim Faith, Mohamed Moussaoui, also condemned electoral debates centred on Islam and misuse of Muslim faith and religious practices by extremists, calling for surveillance within the French community under the guise of protecting one another. He also rebuked the repeated attacks on Muslims and Islam hidden underneath the practice of freedom of expression.
Highlighting the international community’s response to France’s attitude towards Muslims, French political scientist and sociologist Vincent Geisser said, “The United States cannot make sense of France’s Muslim obsession and criticizes it. ‘Why does France always talk about Islam, imams and mosques when things go wrong?’ They’re asking the question.”
With several politicians adopting the Islamophobic rhetoric, France’s democracy and secularism are at stake. In a bid to counter “Islamist Separatism”, politicians are further dividing the French society and increasing discontent among the Muslim community. Islamophobia, as a political phenomenon, has become a part of French governance and is widely shared by the entire political spectrum. The ideological consensus paves the way for Islamophobic incidents and the implementation of discriminatory public policies.