Marine Le Pen, deeply conservative and deeply rightist, harbors deep-seated animosity towards Muslims and is currently leading the race to become the President of the Republic of France. After Trump’s ascension to the US presidency, and his drive to cleanse the country of illegal immigrants, Le Pen has taken it a step further. She seeks to eliminate Muslim presence, culture, and Islam from France, using every possible means to spread hatred against Muslims and their religion. Le Pen’s rhetoric aligns with a growing trend of nationalist and anti-immigrant sentiments sweeping across Europe, emboldening extremist factions and normalizing hate speech in political discourse.
In her latest election poster, she has made this hatred a central theme of her campaign. The poster features two contrasting images: one of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab and another of a French woman with uncovered, neatly styled hair. The caption under the Muslim woman’s photo reads, “This is not France,” while the caption under the unveiled woman’s picture declares, “This is France.”
This narrow-minded approach, as her primary election slogan, reflects not only an intense animosity towards Islam but also an underlying belief in white racial superiority and a mindset reminiscent of Nazi-era racial and religious cleansing ideologies. The overt message is clear: a rejection of multiculturalism and an endorsement of an exclusionary, mono-ethnic identity that disregards France’s rich, diverse history shaped by centuries of cultural exchange.
Indeed, this wave of hatred has exposed the true essence within Europe. While European leaders champion openness, religious tolerance, cultural diversity, and human equality on international platforms, they fiercely protect their own religion, race, lifestyle, and cultural values. This obvious double standard shows a mindset that wants to expand, based on old colonial views. It sees other people as lesser, only good for conquering, enslaving, and exploiting. This hypocrisy is evident in immigration policies, media portrayals, and public sentiment that stigmatize Muslims while celebrating European diaspora communities abroad.
European countries assert the right to migrate freely and enjoy prosperity in any part of the world. However, when Muslim countries resist cultural invasion, they face sanctions, political interference, and even military aggression. Countries that refuse to comply with Western demands often witness their leaders overthrown, societies destabilized, and puppet regimes installed to fulfill foreign agendas. Following 9/11, President George W. Bush threatened Pakistan with devastation if it did not cooperate, stating it would be “bombed back to the Stone Age.”
Afghanistan faced relentless bombardment when the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, while Iraq and Libya were devastated under the pretext of spreading democracy. Iran, for its defiance in preserving its culture and sovereignty, has been subjected to crippling sanctions and demonized as an “evil” nation. This pattern reveals a disturbing trend of punitive actions masked as moral crusades, often resulting in long-term instability and humanitarian crises in the targeted regions.
Western powers conveniently ignore their colonial histories, where countries like France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Portugal occupied numerous Muslim nations, imposing their language, culture, and lifestyles with blatant disregard for indigenous identities. In stark contrast, formerly conservative Muslim countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Maldives, Turkey, and Egypt have transformed into diverse, inclusive societies that welcome global visitors, investors, and cultures. Meanwhile, European nations seem to regress into puritanical, exclusionary ideologies rooted in their colonial past, fueled by a fear of the “other” and a refusal to reconcile with their multicultural realities.
The social consequences would be equally dire, deepening societal divisions, fostering resentment, and undermining the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity that form the cornerstone of the French Republic. In pursuit of exclusionary policies, Le Pen risks not just France’s economic prosperity but the very essence of its national identity and global influence.
Traditional media once controlled the narrative, portraying European leaders as paragons of tolerance and champions of human rights. However, social media has shattered this illusion, exposing the deep-seated prejudices, racism, and Islamophobia prevalent in many parts of Europe. Platforms like X reveal the alarming extent of hate speech, with individuals openly expressing bigotry against Muslims and Islam, showcasing the pervasive and venomous ideologies that remain entrenched within European societies. The digital age has democratized information, making it harder to conceal the contradictions between Europe’s professed values and the reality of widespread discrimination, systemic racism, and xenophobia that persists beneath the surface.
Social media platforms have become breeding grounds for extremist rhetoric, with calls to “cleanse” Europe of Muslims, derogatory depictions of Islamic practices, and the normalization of dehumanizing stereotypes. This hatred is not confined to fringe groups but has seeped into mainstream political discourse, signaling a dangerous societal shift.
The normalization of such rhetoric emboldens hate crimes, fosters division, and undermines the social fabric that holds diverse communities together. It is a stark reminder of the fragility of democratic values when confronted with the forces of fear and intolerance.
Marine Le Pen reinforces her anti-Muslim stance by spreading misleading information about Muslim-majority countries. For instance, an infographic circulating on social media portrays Algerians as a financial burden, claiming they cost France over €9 billion annually through unpaid hospital bills, pension fraud, lost tax revenue, and social assistance. Similar infographics are also injected for other Muslim countries.
This narrative conveniently omits France’s brutal colonial history in Algeria from 1830 to 1962, during which over 1.5 million Algerians were killed, subjected to torture, massacres, and forced displacement. France seized over 2.7 million hectares of fertile land, exploited Algeria’s natural resources, including iron, zinc, lead, phosphates, and later, Sahara oil reserves, while imposing oppressive taxation without representation. This exploitation fueled France’s economic growth, leaving Algeria underdeveloped and economically dependent even after its independence in 1962. The selective amnesia surrounding colonial atrocities serves to decontextualize current immigration debates, framing them as isolated economic issues rather than the legacy of historical injustices.
The same oppressive colonial tactics were employed in other Muslim-majority French colonies, including Tunisia (1881–1956), Morocco (1912–1956), Senegal (1659–1960), Mali (1892–1960), Niger (1900–1960), Burkina Faso (1896–1960), Mauritania (1904–1960), Syria (1920–1946), and Lebanon ((1920–1946).
European colonial powers historically imposed their cultural values and lifestyles on the nations they occupied, believing in the superiority of the white race. This mindset persists today, where non-European races are often expected to adopt Western norms and values while Europeans claim the exclusive right to preserve their cultural identities. Tolerance, it seems, is a one-way expectation imposed on non-white, non-European societies, while European nations exempt themselves from these principles, perpetuating a dangerous double standard rooted in colonial arrogance and racial supremacy.
If Le Pen succeeds in implementing her anti-Muslim policies, she risks irreversibly damaging the very fabric of the French Republic. A coordinated boycott by Muslim-majority countries could jeopardize over €100 billion in annual trade, crippling sectors like energy, agriculture, and defense. Muslim visitors contributing €155 billion to the French economy annually would suffer immensely. The investments worth billions from Gulf countries into French real estate, technology, and infrastructure could be withdrawn, exacerbating economic instability.
The social consequences would be equally dire, deepening societal divisions, fostering resentment, and undermining the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity that form the cornerstone of the French Republic. In pursuit of exclusionary policies, Le Pen risks not just France’s economic prosperity but the very essence of its national identity and global influence.
