The political far left in France has been often accused of being apologist to Islamist groups and countries. An example of this nexus between Islamists and the far left came to light in the last election, where according to a report published by Europe 1, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the candidate of France Insoumis (the largest far left political party of France) benefited from a large part of the Muslim electorate, owing to the support of several Islamist activists, as per an intelligence assessment.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon was considered “the least bad candidate” and in this intelligence document that Europe 1 was able to obtain, such pro Mélenchon Islamist propaganda was spread by two preachers close to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the French media.
But Mélenchon being supported by Islamist groups is not a one-way traffic. The France Insoumis chief is also known for rallying in support of Islamist groups, like he did in 2019, when he participated in a controversial anti Islamophobia rally in Paris. Most French political parties stayed away from the gathering given its criticism of French laws of secularism. One of the main organizers of the rally – the Collective Against Islamophobia in France has also been accused to having links to Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, a claim the CCIF denies. The CCIF was disbanded by the French government in 2020, after it was put on a watchlist following the shocking murder of Samuel Paty, the French teacher who was murdered by a Islamist fanatic for allegedly showing caricatures of Mohammad, the prophet of Islam.
Highly placed sources also suggest that in recent months, the political Islamist ideological groups and governments of Muslim majority countries like Pakistan, have tried to make further inroads into the far-left political groups as they know the far-left have sympathies for Islamic ideologies. The French far-left must not be swayed by such messaging, especially given that many of these Muslim groups and countries do not adhere to any international human rights laws when it comes to freedom of expression, association and religion, unlike the French state which upholds these values dearly.