It is time for French Muslims to find their own voice

It is time for French Muslims to find their own voice

The mood has changed in Paris. The City of Light no longer lives to the rhythm of the upcoming Olympics, but of the upcoming parliamentary elections. For some, that’s even more entertaining. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament following the results of this month’s European elections, in which right-wing parties increased their representation. What followed was a weird “Game of Thrones” within all political parties. Let’s put it this way: It’s a blossoming meme season for French politics.

One aspect of these upcoming parliamentary elections is the choice of French Muslims. Many are wondering how they will vote. There is no doubt about how they will cast their vote. Almost two-thirds of them will vote for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party, La France Insoumise, and its allies. Many have justified this by referring to the situation in Gaza and to Mélenchon’s criticism of Israel. This, according to analysts, is why 62 percent of French Muslims voted for his party in the European elections.

However, this reasoning is not really correct. Mélenchon received 69 percent of the Muslim vote in the first round of the 2022 presidential election, and there was no war in Gaza at the time. He is a political animal who knows how to capitalize on this situation and satisfy his audience. Muslims are the only community that has such a concentrated and monochromatic electorate. No other religious group gives more than 30 to 35 percent to a single political party. So if almost 70 percent of the Muslim vote goes to Mélenchon, that’s a big difference.

The left has gained the ability to win over the Muslim electorate through various movements.

Khaled Abou Zahr

Why did Muslims first join the Socialist Party in the 1980s and now La France Insoumise? The left has the ability to win over the Muslim electorate through various movements. Since the inauguration of Francois Mitterrand as president in 1981, a voice within the Socialist Party has expressed the grievances and concerns of French Muslims from Africa. A clear movement in this direction was the SOS Racism association in Harlem Désir and its famous slogan “Hands off my buddy,” which advocated against racism with a symbolic yellow pin in the shape of a palm. This movement in the mid-1980s anchored the Muslim electorate on the left.

One could make an easy comparison with the black electorate in the US, which was mainly anchored to the Democratic Party. I think we have gone in circles for both communities. If they now choose to vote outside these guidelines, they are seen as “not black” or portrayed as “good Arabs” who want to please their master. The left has become a tyrant for these communities. But more importantly, have French Muslims actually benefited from voting predominantly for the left all these years? Judging by the complaints and statistics on social progress, this does not seem to be the case.

The left has allowed the community not to assimilate. By hijacking words like humanism and portraying the conservative parties as racist, Muslims have been encouraged to stay within their community and not actively fight for a bigger piece of the pie of what a great country France can be.

If we look at the results of the European elections among the French living in the UAE, we also see an absolute majority for La France Insoumise. Mélenchon also did well in the first round of the last presidential elections. The UAE has indeed welcomed a large community of French people of North African origin. They all rightly praise the UAE for the positive environment it has created. And that is why I see a great contradiction – not to say hypocrisy – in their result.

This also means finding ways to be useful to one’s own country and not falling into the trap of being a victim.

Khaled Abou Zahr

We can start with what seems to matter most to people: their wallets. Mélenchon plans to tax them up to 90 percent, while in the UAE they benefit from zero taxes. But more importantly, we see that the two visions are completely different. So what do they want? This is a very symbolic example of the community’s dilemma. They cannot value the way of life and the vision that we see in the Gulf while voting for the far left at home. This makes no sense; not even the situation in Gaza explains this. If they want the same environment that encourages entrepreneurship and personal success, they must fight for it at home and change their political allegiance.

Integrating into a new country is very difficult. There is no doubt about that. You have to fight for your place. And that takes time. You need heroes who will assert themselves and open doors. It requires excellence and ways to move your country forward. The Italians experienced this before the North African immigrants, the Spanish did it, and the Portuguese did it. For each of these communities, it was a hard struggle to find their place in France. And that also means finding ways to be useful to your country and not falling into the trap of victimhood. In short, French Muslims must stop seeing themselves as victims of oppression.

Moreover, I can tell you that every single French Muslim living outside his country is more French than any other country of his origin. Only in France does he feel connected to his country of origin again. When he has the opportunity to travel, it is his French passport that he waves proudly. And being French goes beyond borders. It follows you wherever you go. I simply wish that the majority of this community would stop following a single political voice that portrays them as eternal victims and start thinking about a future with positive achievements for generations to come.

• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is the CEO of EurabiaMedia and Editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the authors in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab News.