French President Emmanuel Macron convened his top ministers on Wednesday following the presentation of a state-commissioned report alleging that the Muslim Brotherhood is executing a covert campaign to undermine France’s secular institutions. The report accuses the organization of promoting a long-term strategy of “entryism” – a process of infiltrating state institutions from within – to shift French governance toward Islamic norms.
The 40-page report, prepared by two senior civil servants and presented to Macron’s Defense Council, asserts that the Brotherhood’s influence is expanding at the local level, particularly through associations, schools, and mosques. It claims this activity poses a “threat to national cohesion” despite not involving overt violence.
“The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and does not involve violent action, highlights the risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions,” the report said, according to copies obtained by AFP and Reuters.
In response, Macron has asked ministers to develop actionable proposals by early June. According to an Élysée Palace statement, this request reflects the “seriousness of facts established” in the document.
Government sources confirmed to Politico that the president sharply criticized ministers during the Wednesday session for lacking sufficient strategies to address the issue.
The document identifies the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF) as the French branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The FMF reportedly controls or influences about 207 places of worship and manages over 280 associations involved in education, charity, and sports. These networks, the report argues, function as localized “ecosystems” that gradually reshape community norms around conservative Islamic values.
Officials cited in the report said these ecosystems facilitate stricter religious practices, noting increases in visible signs of religiosity such as headscarves worn by girls as young as five and a broader shift toward community conservatism. “Social norms—the veil, beards, dress, fasting—are gradually imposed as the ecosystem solidifies,” the authors wrote.
Macron’s crackdown on what he has labeled “Islamist separatism” has accelerated in recent years amid pressure from far-right parties ahead of the 2026 municipal elections. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, newly elected leader of the conservative Les Républicains party, described the Brotherhood’s activity as “a low-level Islamism” with the ultimate goal of bringing French society under sharia law.
Representatives of Musulmans de France denied any ties to the Brotherhood. “We reject any allegation that associates us with a foreign political programme, or with a strategy of ‘entryism’,” the organization said in a statement. “Confusing Islam with political Islamism and radicality is not only dangerous, but counter-productive for the Republic itself.”
France is home to over 6 million Muslims, the largest Muslim population of any country in Europe.
The report contends that the Brotherhood is redirecting its focus to Europe as its influence declines in the Arab world. It cites backing from Turkey and Qatar and notes that the movement has adopted a Western veneer to better integrate into European society while pursuing long-term ideological goals.
