Front Populaire says people who see a call for attacks in Houellebecq's interview cannot read
Front PopulaireMagazine that published the Houellebecq-Onfray conversation, in a post on its X account
Front Populaire, which published the conversation, rejects the reading that Houellebecq called in its special issue for attacks on Muslims, and asks the journalists Jean-Michel Aphatie and Edwy Plenel where they stand.
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.
“Those who claim that Michel #Houellebecq calls, in our special issue, for there to be "reverse Bataclans"... 1) cannot read OR 2) cannot read (Translated from French. Original: Ceux qui affirment que Michel #Houellebecq appelle, dans notre hors-série, à ce qu'il y ait des "Bataclan à l'envers"... 1) ne savent pas lire OU 2) ne savent pas lire)”
Original post
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 Front Populaire answering people who said Michel Houellebecq had called, in its special issue, for attacks on Muslims. It tags the journalists Jean-Michel Aphatie and Edwy Plenel.
Before the quotation
Front Populaire announced its special issue built around the conversation between Houellebecq and Michel Onfray on November 16, 2022.
After the quotation
The post ends by tagging the journalists Jean-Michel Aphatie and Edwy Plenel and asking which of the two groups they belong to.
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 magazine disputes the interpretation that the remarks call for attacks on Muslims, which challenges the characterization. It does not argue that the remarks about Muslims were justified, so defends or excuses does not fit.
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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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- Front Populaire says people who see a call for attacks in Houellebecq's interview cannot read
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The Dispute Index. "Front Populaire says people who see a call for attacks in Houellebecq's interview cannot read". First published: 2026-11-12. Last updated: 2026-11-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/8671-front-populaire-which-published-the-conversation-rejects-the