MRAP says it never accepted Houellebecq's explanations and kept its complaint
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuplesFrench anti-racism association and civil party in the case, commenting to Le Nouvel Obs
The MRAP, which kept its complaint after the Grande Mosquée de Paris dropped its own, says it never found Houellebecq's explanations convincing, and Le Nouvel Obs reports that it welcomed the decision to place him under formal investigation.
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.
“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)”
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
Reporting
About this source
Le Nouvel Obs report in French. It summarizes the November 2022 remarks, the Grande Mosquée de Paris complaint and its withdrawal in January 2023, the complaints that the MRAP and the Union des mosquées de France kept, and comments from the MRAP, the federation's lawyer and Houellebecq's lawyers.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Le Nouvel Obs reports that the MRAP and the Union des mosquées de France remained civil parties after the Grande Mosquée de Paris dropped its complaint in January 2023.
After the quotation
Le Nouvel Obs reports that the MRAP welcomed the decision to place Houellebecq under formal investigation.
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 MRAP rejects the explanations Houellebecq gave for the remarks, maintains its criminal complaint over them and welcomes the investigation, which condemns them.
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Lawyer for the Union des mosquées de France says free expression cannot justify everything
“Freedom of expression is fundamental, but it cannot justify everything (Translated from French. Original: La liberté d'expression est fondamentale mais elle ne saurait tout justifier)”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "MRAP says it never accepted Houellebecq's explanations and kept its complaint". First published: 2026-11-12. Last updated: 2026-11-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/8674-the-mrap-which-kept-its-complaint-after-the