William Molinié, edited by Gauthier Delomez 6:28 a.m., August 30, 2022, modified at 6:34 a.m., August 30, 2022

In a confidential note from territorial intelligence that Europe 1 obtained, the police believe that Jean-Luc Mélenchon was able to benefit from a "Muslim vote" during the presidential election because his positions were welcomed and relayed by many Islamist influencers and activists during the campaign.

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It is a document distributed to a handful of senior officials, members of the government and even the Élysée, written on May 17, 2022, three weeks after the second round of the presidential election.

Emmanuel Macron was then re-elected, the legislative elections were already in sight and Jean-Luc Mélenchon dreamed of becoming Prime Minister.

The central territorial intelligence service (SCRT) poses, in a confidential 12-page note that Europe 1 has obtained, its observations on "Islamist influences within the framework of the democratic process".

The objective is to understand why 69% of Muslim voters slipped a ballot a few weeks earlier in favor of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, as revealed by an Ifop study in

La Croix

.

A "Muslim vote" largely dictated by Islamists

If the "Muslim vote" is not new - "in 2007 and 2012, Muslim voters had massively voted for the PS candidates" -, recall the police officers of the territorial intelligence, it was in 2022 largely dictated by the Islamists who have "clearly tried to weigh in the campaign".

"Jean-Luc Mélenchon's positions on the separatism law have won him the favor of many community influencers", they write.

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This rapprochement is rooted in the "pre-election context" and the "quasi-permanent debate" on the Muslim religion for 18 months which favored "the expression of ideas hostile to Islam and Muslims", according to this note .

This would have "aroused the weariness but also the anger of the faithful who consider themselves stigmatized", a feeling shared by both rigorous Muslims and those who are more moderate.

It is specified that the "candidacy of Eric Zemmour [...] has aroused great concern among the faithful" and that the communitarian agitators have thus found "an ally as providential as it is involuntary in [his] person, a candidate openly hostile to the 'Islam."

The supposed Islamophobia of the state as a crucial issue in the poll

From then on, the Islamists revived this feeling of victimization to position themselves as defenders of the Muslim community, gain credit with the faithful and make them believe that the state was openly Islamophobic.

A thesis defended for example by the former lawyer Rafik Chekkat, member of the association Act against Islamophobia or the decolonial activist Siham Assbague, who in a tweet published the day before the election called on the "fasting people" of Ramadan to pray "against Macron, whose five-year term has been marked by the amplification of state violence against Muslims.[…] And against Le Pen of course".

The fasting du'a against Macron, whose five-year term has been marked by the amplification of state violence against Muslims, working-class neighborhoods, exiles, the poor, social movements, etc.

And against Le Pen of course, from father to daughter, including niece

— Sihame Assbague (@s_assbague) April 9, 2022

Illustration, if one were needed, that the proponents of political Islam have sought to make the supposed Islamophobia of the state a central issue in the election in the eyes of Muslims.

Mélenchon, the "least bad" of the candidates

For the Islamists, Jean-Luc Mélenchon was "the least bad candidate".

This is evidenced by the anonymous, unsigned press release, broadcast on social networks the day before the first round of the presidential election, relayed by Brotherhood preachers Vincent Souleymane and Hani Ramadan, one of Tarik Ramadan's brothers, both grandsons of Hassan el-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The same day, another brother imam, Farid Slim, educational director of an association in the sights of the intelligence services, announced his intention on his Facebook page to vote for the candidate of rebellious France.

A few days earlier, the Collective against Islamophobia (CCIE), since dissolved in France and then reconstituted in Belgium, had published an evaluation grid for candidates: Jean-Luc Mélenchon appeared as the only candidate "faithful" to secularism, against the closure of places of worship, against the "separatism law" and indifferent to clothing.

Find our grid summarizing the positions of certain candidates in terms of Islamophobia



Do you agree with our analysis?

pic.twitter.com/SBtZeq7WG1

— CCIE (@CCIEurope) April 6, 2022

In the same vein, the journalist considered by intelligence as "pro-Erdogan", Feïza Ben Mohamed, "published a series of tweets justifying her choice to vote for Jean-Luc-Mélenchon, whom she considers to be the only credible candidate not having the ambition to use Muslims to make people forget the problems of our country", continue the authors of this note.

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Persistent mistrust between Mélenchon and the "Muslim brothers"

The very virulent and uninhibited attitude of these Islamist influencers contrasted with the "more cautious" one, according to the intelligence, of the official representatives of Islam in France since "in their majority", the religious leaders "were careful not to give nominative voting instructions during the first round".

For the second round, the figures of moderate Islam (Muslims of France, Grand Mosque of Paris, etc.) called for blocking the far right, thus arousing the jeers of communitarian influencers.

The latter then divided for the legislative elections.

Some are asking Muslims to continue to mobilize in the hope of a Nupes victory, as suggested by Hani Ramadan's April 20 sharing of the tweet by rebellious MP Adrien Quatennens calling for the legislative elections to be considered the "third round" of the presidential election.

Good.


At 400,000 votes, we would have yawned less.


We just lost three hours.


Let's not waste five years.


Hang on!


After Sunday, heading for June 12 and 19.

We win in the third round.


Another world is always possible.


Let's go get it!

#debatmacronlepen pic.twitter.com/PfvxCBAOO7

— Adrien Quatennens (@AQuatennens) April 20, 2022

Others, on the contrary, distanced themselves from the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, like Rachid Chekkat, recalling that the rebellious candidate had posed as an opponent of political Islam.

Responding to a question in #OEED, JL Mélenchon reiterated his desire, if he became Prime Minister, to repeal the #LoiSeparatisme.

He added that "we are not fighting Islam, we are fighting political Islam" ⬇️

— Rafik Chekkat (@r_chekkat) April 30, 2022

A sign that the Islamist movement displays a "persistent mistrust" with the "institutional political class", "the Brotherhood influencers will not go towards a lasting alliance with LFI, which will always remain too republican in their eyes", foresees, in conclusion, this intelligence note.