French political scientist denounces ‘institutional segregation’ against Muslims

French political scientist Francois Burgat denounced what he called “institutional segregation” against Muslims in France during a human rights conference at the UN headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Invited by the association Cojep International, Burgat gave a stark assessment of France’s political climate toward Muslim citizens, saying the 2021 “separatism” law had accelerated repression.

“The 2021 law had already been working before it was adopted,” he said, noting that the dissolution of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) marked a turning point.

Passed in 2021, the law expanded state oversight to curb what the government called separatism, tightening controls on associations, religious activities and foreign funding.

According to Burgat, the following years saw a “cascade of measures” aimed at Muslim associations, educational institutions and even publishing houses.

“The matrix of support for Israel by a majority of political parties is Islamophobia,” he said, arguing that public debate often criminalizes Palestinian actors instead of examining events under international law.

Burgat rejected framing the issue as religious conflict, calling it a postcolonial struggle in which French society resists allowing the “fourth generation of Muslims to speak out” on equal terms with other citizens.

He said this generation now has the language, culture and social standing to speak publicly, calling it a democratic advance that clashes with the spread of far-right rhetoric. Once-marginal ideas — Islamophobia and an identity-based nationalism — have permeated much of French politics, including parts of the left, he said.

Despite a stronger and more visible Muslim voice, Burgat warned that “no strong ideological counter-trend” has yet emerged to shift the balance of power.

“For now, I am pessimistic,” he said, while adding that he hopes to be proven wrong by a future reversal.