Grande Mosquée de Paris files a complaint, saying the remarks stoke discrimination
Grande Mosquée de ParisParis mosque and Muslim institution, in a statement signed by its rector, Chems-eddine Hafiz
Announcing a complaint to the Paris prosecutor for provocation to hatred against Muslims, the Grande Mosquée de Paris calls Houellebecq's remarks unacceptable and brutal and says they aim to stoke discriminatory speech and acts rather than inform public debate.
Responding to
The wish of France's native-born population is not for Muslims to assimilate but for them to stop robbing and attacking them, or else, as another solution, for them to leave.
“they do not aim to shed light on any public debate but to stoke discriminatory speech, and acts (Translated from French. Original: elles ne visent pas à éclairer un quelconque débat public mais à attiser les discours discriminatoires, et les actes)”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Michel Houellebecq is placed under formal investigation over 2022 remarks about Muslims; his lawyers say the words fall within free expression
On November 10, 2026, an investigating judge at the Nanterre court, west of Paris, placed the novelist Michel Houellebecq under formal investigation (mis en examen) for complicity in provocation to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group because of its origin or religion, Le Figaro, AFP and BFMTV report, citing a source close to the case. A mise en examen is a step in a French judicial investigation, not a conviction. The case concerns remarks about Muslims in a conversation with the philosopher Michel Onfray, published in a special issue of Onfray's magazine Front Populaire in November 2022. AFP quotes Houellebecq as saying there that the wish of the native-born French population was not that Muslims assimilate but that they stop robbing and attacking them, or else that they leave. The Union des mosquées de France (UMF) and the anti-racism group MRAP filed the complaints behind the investigation. The Grande Mosquée de Paris filed one in December 2022 and dropped it in January 2023 after meeting the writer. His lawyers say the remarks contain no exhortation and fall within freedom of opinion and expression. The UMF's lawyer says freedom of expression is fundamental but cannot justify everything.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post on X by the Grande Mosquée de Paris announcing a complaint against Michel Houellebecq over remarks about French Muslims in a recent written interview. The post attaches the institution's statement, signed by its rector, Chems-eddine Hafiz.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Le HuffPost report in French on the Grande Mosquée de Paris complaint. It quotes the institution's statement and the passage of the interview it cited, and mentions Front Populaire's posts about its special issue.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Le HuffPost reports that the statement, announced on the mosque's X account on December 28, 2022, concerned a complaint to the Paris prosecutor for provocation to hatred against Muslims and called Houellebecq's remarks unacceptable and brutal.
After the quotation
The statement cites the passage in which Houellebecq predicts attacks and shootings in mosques and in cafes frequented by Muslims, and says that strict application of the law should now be sought.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Michel Houellebecq's November 2022 remarks about Muslims in Front Populaire, now under judicial investigation. The Grande Mosquée de Paris says the remarks aim to stoke discriminatory speech and acts and files a complaint over them, which condemns them. It rejects the remarks themselves rather than only a description of them.
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More from this case
Read the full caseRikki Schlott says France treats Houellebecq as a greater threat than rioters
“The man who defends his nation's spirit and integrity is treated as a greater threat than the man who burns that culture to the ground.”Read statement
Omar Youssef Souleimane calls the remarks a forecast and the case a use of the courts by Islamists
“It was a forecast, the vision of a future in which such violence would take place (Translated from French. Original: C'était une prospective, la vision d'un avenir où de telles violences auraient lieu)”Read statement
MRAP says it never accepted Houellebecq's explanations and kept its complaint
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples
“We never considered that these explanations held up; withdrawing our complaint was never in question (Translated from French. Original: Nous n'avons jamais considéré que ces explications tenaient la route, il n'a jamais été question de retirer notre plainte)”Read statement
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- Grande Mosquée de Paris files a complaint, saying the remarks stoke discrimination
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The Dispute Index. "Grande Mosquée de Paris files a complaint, saying the remarks stoke discrimination". First published: 2026-11-12. Last updated: 2026-11-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/8670-announcing-a-complaint-to-the-paris-prosecutor-for