French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered his government to formulate proposals addressing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the spread of political Islamism within France, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The directive follows a security meeting where a report highlighted the Muslim Brotherhood as a "threat to national cohesion" in France.
The Elysee Palace announced that new proposals would be examined at a Defense Council meeting in early June, underscoring the "importance of the subject and the seriousness of the facts established." In an unusual move, Macron also decided to make the report public by the end of the week.
The government-commissioned report, prepared by two senior civil servants, "clearly establishes the anti-republican and subversive nature of the Muslim Brotherhood" and proposes ways to counter this threat. While some measures will be announced publicly, others are expected to remain classified.
The focus on religious radicalization comes as France, home to one of Europe's largest Muslim populations, seeks to prevent the spread of extremist Islamist ideologies following a series of deadly jihadist attacks.
The report specifically identified Muslims of France as "the national branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in France," pointing to the spread of Islamism "from the bottom up" as a "threat in the short to medium term." However, the presidency emphasized, "we must not lump all Muslims together. We are fighting against Islamism and its radical excesses."
The Federation of Muslims of France, for its part, denounced the report's "unfounded accusations," warning against a "dangerous" conflation of Islam and radicalism.
While conservative daily Le Figaro reported that the Muslim Brotherhood "wants to introduce Sharia law in France," the government's report clarified that "no recent document demonstrates the desire of Muslims in France to establish an Islamic state in France or to enforce Sharia law there." Nevertheless, the authors maintained that the threat is real, describing it as a "subtle... yet no less subversive aim for the institutions."
