SURVEY - 92% of French people believe that foreign imams who hold anti-French sermons should be expelled

Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: ROMAIN LAFABREGUE / AFP 6:34 p.m., February 19, 2024

A new imam in Gérald Darmanin’s sights. The Minister of the Interior requested the withdrawal of the residence permit of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze in Gard, due to calls to hatred that he allegedly made. In a video relayed on social networks, the person concerned notably describes the “tricolor flag” as a “satanic flag” which has “no value with Allah”. 

And according to this CSA poll for Europe 1, CNews and

, the expulsion of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, of Tunisian nationality, would be welcomed positively by the French. 92% of them* believe, in fact, that foreign imams who give anti-French sermons should be expelled. Depending on the age or political proximity of the respondents, the results vary only marginally. 

More nuance among rebellious voters

It should be noted, however, that the youngest (18-24 years old) are the least categorical since 16% of them still believe that it is not necessary to expel these imams who hold sermons hostile to France. Among the oldest, on the other hand, the results are clear since 96% of those over 50 say they are in favor of sending these religious people back to their country of origin. 

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Generally speaking, respondents speak with the same voice on the issue, including their political connections. Unsurprisingly, right-wing supporters are the most in favor of the expulsion of these imams (96%). On the left too, opinions are not really divided, with 88% favorable response. The voters of La France insoumise provide a little nuance since 17% of them do not wish to expel, without possible recourse, the imams who hold anti-French sermons.

*Representative national sample of 1,006 people aged 18 and over Quota method based on the criteria of sex, age and profession of the respondent after stratification by region and urban category. To ensure the representativeness of the results, the data were adjusted for the variables of sex, age, profession, region and urban category.