Silent Marches Planned Across France to Protest Islamophobia
A national march is also scheduled for the same day in Paris, beginning at 2 p.m. at Place de l'Université and proceeding to Place de la République.
The call to mobilize comes in response to what organizers describe as a growing climate of Islamophobia in France. In an op-ed, the signatories urged people to join the marches to honor the memory of Aboubakar Cissé, who was fatally shot on April 25 outside the Grand-Combe mosque. The statement asserts that Cissé was targeted “because he was Muslim.”
“This crime is not just an isolated incident. It is not the story of a settling of scores or a quarrel with a tragic end. It is the story of a country where one man decides to kill another, whom he does not know, simply because he prays in a mosque,” the statement read.
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According to the signatories, responsibility for the attack extends beyond the individual who carried it out. They argue that a broader social and political environment has contributed to fostering hatred. “The person who kills is responsible. But the one who commits a racist crime always does so in an atmosphere that encourages it,” the statement continued, pointing to the role of successive French governments in enabling an anti-Muslim climate and the electoral strength of the far-right National Rally.
The signatories also criticized parts of the French media landscape, accusing certain outlets and commentators of perpetuating harmful narratives.
They referenced “media obsession with Islam,” citing both “vulgar talk shows on CNews” and “refined court intellectuals” who hide behind the rhetoric of anti-fanaticism to express hostility toward Arabs and Black people. The op-ed also highlighted the legislative developments over the past two decades, which the authors claim have contributed to systemic discrimination.
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They further expressed concern that some individuals and institutions now expressing sympathy for Cissé’s killing had previously contributed to the climate that made such violence possible.
The appeal calls for mass participation in a nationwide demonstration “against all forms of racism.”
Supporting organizations and individuals include the Collective Against Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE), the April 21 March against Racism, Islamophobia, and for the Protection of Children, Urgence Palestine, and the Adama Committee. Prominent figures such as Nobel literature laureate Annie Ernaux, philosopher Frédéric Lordon, author Françoise Vergès, artist Blanche Gardin, and Michèle Sibony of the French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP) are among the endorsers.
Source: Agencies
