Scholar Stresses Religion's Role in French Presidential Election
Set to be held on April 10, 2022 (April 21, 1401), the Presidential election in France can be considered one of the most different elections in the contemporary history of the country country and perhaps in Europe.
The difference between relates to the events that have taken place in the political and social scene of this country in recent years.
Pressure on French Muslims has been intensified in recent years in the wake of terrorist attacks by extremist groups such as Daesh (ISIL or ISIS). These pressures escalated to the point that many Islamic organizations and associations in France were shut down or forced to restrict their activities.
Paul Smith is an Associate Professor in French History and Politics, Faculty of Arts in University of Nottingham. He reads History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, which was a Senate Institute of the University of London back in the day, but which is now part of UCL. Then he went up to read for a one-year taught masters at St Antony's Oxford.
He is a historian who specializes in 19th and 20th century French politics, political institutions and political culture. Smith have particular research interests in the French Senate, Feminism in France 1914-1945, French local government, and Contemporary French Politics in general.
His interview with IQNA follows:
IQNA: In recent months, we have seen increasing pressure on French Muslims under the pretext of fighting extremism. Some believe that the pressure from the Macron government is due to the approaching elections and the attempt to attract the votes of the far right. Do you agree with this?
Smith: The Macron government, in common with most of its predecessors, has triangulated to the far right, that is to meet the threat of far-right discourse by trying to meet the far right on its own ground, initially through being tough on immigration, or using the rhetoric of being tough on immigration, but in recent years trying to match the far right when it makes claims about the ‘incompatibility’ of Islam with the values of the secular Republic.
Macron and other mainstream politicians try to make a clear distinction between extremism and the majority of French Muslims, to avoid what they call making an ‘amalgam’, but candidates such as Eric Zemmour do not avoid the comparison and insist on the ‘European and Catholic’ origins of France, as do some mainstream right-wing politicians – though not the serious candidates for the presidency contesting the nomination by the Les Républicains party.
Macron is not seeking to win votes from the far right so much as to consolidate his credentials as a defender of French secularism.
IQNA: What do you think is the main reason for the tendency of some French Muslims towards extremist groups such as ISIS, and will this affect the majority of French Muslims who have moderate beliefs?
Smith: I would say the attraction of some French Muslims towards extremist groups such as ISIS in France is much the same as in other countries, but certainly the combination of a public discourse about the wearing of ‘Islamic’ dress in public, for example, creates what feels like a hostile environment.
IQNA: What do you think is the root of Islamophobia in French society, which is known for its religious tolerance?
Smith: Nearly sixty years after the end of the Algerian War in 1962, France has still not fully faced up to that conflict and what it meant for both sides. And as you know, relations between the two countries at the moment are very poor.
In fact, Macron has made serious attempts to address the question of collective historical memory – calling French behavior in Algeria during the colonial period and during the war ‘a crime against humanity’, paying official homage to the victims of the events in Paris at the Pont-Neuf on 17 October 1961 etc. But the dominant discourse in France regarding colonialism – that France has a ‘civilizing mission’ to bring to the world by exporting liberty, equality and fraternity, remains strong and difficult to argue against. In that respect the arguments are much the same as in the UK, for example, where postcolonialism continues to cause deep divisions.
For Zemmour, by the way, the challenge to France is not just from Islam, but also from Europe and from American ‘woke-ism’ which all present a threat to ‘French values’ – whatever that expression is meant to mean.
I think it’s very important however, to understand that the vast majority of French non-Muslims have Muslims friends, have no problem with Muslim culture or with France as a multicultural society in reality even if not at the level of official discourse. For example, they understand and respect their Muslim friends’ and colleagues’ needs during Ramadan, wish them good things when there are Islamic festivals and so forth.
IQNA: To what extent do you think religious minorities like Muslims in France can influence the upcoming presidential election?
Smith: Very little directly, I suspect. That said, some candidates will seek the endorsement or at least to be seen to agree with institutions within France representing moderate Muslim, Jewish or even Christian opinion. Religion in the broadest sense is playing an underlying role at this point in the election, a backdrop role. Macron will want to steer the campaign towards social questions, the environment and so forth. Even Le Pen will want to do that, since she is currently being outbid on the question of religion and identity by Zemmour.
IQNA: What is the view of the French presidential candidates towards the religious minorities and Muslims in this country?
Smith: Broadly speaking, from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Anne Hidalgo, Yannick Jadot on the left, to Macron on the centre-right and whoever the right-wing candidate turns out to be, these will reassert the values of the secular republic. So will Le Pen, though in recent years she has insisted on secularism, but as a means of disguising the far right’s latent Islamophobia. Zemmour is not so subtle. For him the values of Islam and the Republic cannot be reconciled and French culture is under threat from what the French call ‘le grand replacement’, being overwhelmed by immigration from Muslim countries.
IQNA: What is your prediction for the presidential election?
Smith: We had a very tight first round of the election in 2017, when four candidates had around 20% of the vote. So first we need to focus on he gets into the top two places. It still looks like a Macron-Le Pen election. But whoever wins the right-wing nomination may still have an important influence on the outcome. By contrast the left does not look capable of getting any of its candidates into the second round.
Interview by Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi
