France’s Far-Right: Terrorism Gets a Pass When Muslims Are the Target

A dozen members of the militant far-right group Action des Forces Operationnelles (AFO) are to be put on trial for plotting violent attacks against Muslims that involved the bombing of a mosque and the killing of 200 imams. The attacks, planned between 2017 and 2018, thus fit into a trend of escalating Anti-Muslim hatred and aggression in France, more so since the Israel attack on Gaza in October 2023. 

Despite this upcoming trial being a step toward justice, it fails to address the broader issue. This is particularly so because of the French state’s policies and official discourses that promote prejudicial violence against Muslims in France (explore). 

 The violence that the AFO posed to the people of mainland China was violent and devastating. Their members planned how to attack mosques, use snipers, and even spread poison on the halal foods to be purchased from supermarkets. However, as these plans never materialised as planned to be executed, the French authorities lowered the charges to minimal misdemeanours, hence light penalties. 

This decision sends a dangerous message: that Muslims in France and their freedoms are unnecessary and that extreme right-wing groups endangering the lives of hundreds can go scot-free, literally receiving just slaps on their wrists here. 

 This downgrading may create a precedence which will see other far-right groups awaiting trial, like the Barjols, who have indicated a desire to launch acts of violence against Muslims. If these cases are to be addressed similarly, then the French justice system will be seen as having failed in its duty to prosecute white supremacists.

 At the same time, Muslims are living in constant fear as the attacks on Muslims increase throughout the country. Several mosques have been vandalised, Islamic cultural centres have been attacked, and threatening letters addressed to Muslim organisations have also been received–all this shows the increasingly difficult position of Muslims in France. 

 Muslims make up one-tenth of the French population; thus, the French have a tense attitude toward Islam. It is important to remember that the country’s *laïcité* or secularism, which has otherwise been praised, has often been the means through which Muslim identity has been suppressed. 

That is why French Muslims have been facing disproportionate concerns and restrictions, starting from hijab bans up to mosque surveillance. Since October 2023, the government’s actions have become bolder. State security measures to counter terrorist threats before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics allowed increased searches and checks of Muslim organisations. 

 Currently, the French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has led the French authorities and continuously practice surveillance and persecution of Muslim entities in the name of counterterrorism. All such attempts, however, appear to be the objective of restricting the liberty of Muslims rather than the aim of safeguarding the security of a country. 

The ways the state is actively participating in anti-Muslim mobilisation include Darmanin’s meetings with German counterparts to fight the so-called ‘Islamist extremism’ and the far-right National Rally’s aggravated desire to close mosques. 

 This is something important to note that it is possible to act against Muslims based on mere accusations with no proof needed. The Muslims in France are unjustly penalised, arrested or had their freedoms restricted for exercising their religion. In contrast, racist groups are planning for mass killings and are let off the hook.

 It can be seen now that women are subjected to the double standard. Punishable cases of conspiracy will be brought against far-right criminals, such as those in the AFO trial, but in courts that do not have jurisdiction to pronounce on terrorism. Consequently, they could get comparatively milder penalties even though they planned to commit mass killings. 

 This is regarding the Muslim protests against the war in Gaza, where French authorities dealt with such protests in a much softer manner. Protests have been quelled using force, and protesters have been branded as a security threat to the country’s security. The French government has suppressed these black Muslim women using anti-terrorism laws that have continued to worsen the status of Muslims in the country by promoting narratives that equate Islam to terrorism. 

 All in all, the AFO trial, despite its significance, does not in any way adequately confront the rising tendency of violence against Muslims. France continues to mask far-right extremism as a non-terrorist activity and has focussed most of its net on Muslims, leading to the escalation of violence against Muslims. 

This hatred and this refusal cannot disappear without this intolerance being fought against at its source: the French Muslims will remain in danger, facing the risks of the extremisms as the state that makes its persecution possible. But suppose France is genuinely concerned with the well-being of all the country’s inhabitants. In that case, it needs to look into the mirror and address how it has contributed to Islamophobia.