Opinion: 'France’s Muslim Brotherhood report is manufacturing a threat'
A new government report, presented by France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, revives the spectre of the Muslim Brotherhood as an underground Islamist threat poised to capture local and national institutions.
But behind this alarmist framing lies a deeper political strategy: to delegitimise non-compliant Muslim political participation ahead of the 2026 and 2027 elections, and to bolster the far-right parties as the most credible guardians of the republic against a manufactured enemy.
On 21 May, a confidential report - drafted by two civil servants and initially classified as "Secret Défense" before being leaked to Le Figaro - was presented to France's National Security Council. It warned of an alleged strategy of "entrism" by Muslim Brotherhood-linked actors to infiltrate and gradually transform public institutions, including schools, town halls, and sports associations.
While the report offered no specific names or data, it was swiftly amplified by government officials and conservative media figures. Retailleau described it as evidence of "Islamist submersion", while former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal called for new legislation on "separatism", including a hijab ban for girls under 15.
The narrative is familiar - and so is the timing.