Omar Youssef Souleimane calls the remarks a forecast and the case a use of the courts by Islamists
Omar Youssef SouleimaneFrench-Syrian writer and journalist, in an opinion column in Le Figaro
In a Le Figaro column, Souleimane argues that Islamists in democracies have learned to fight critics in the courts, notes that Houellebecq had reworded his remarks and apologized, and describes the passage predicting attacks on mosques as a forecast of a possible future.
Responding to
Houellebecq's 2022 remarks about Muslims contain no exhortation, even implicit, and therefore fall within freedom of opinion and expression.
“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)”
Original text
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 text
About this source
Opinion column in French by the writer and journalist Omar Youssef Souleimane in Le Figaro's FigaroVox section. He argues that the case against Houellebecq shows Islamists using the courts against critics and describes the 2022 passage on attacks against Muslims as a forecast.
Before the quotation
Souleimane writes that Houellebecq had reworded his remarks and apologized but was placed under formal investigation all the same, and quotes the 2022 passage predicting attacks and shootings in mosques (translation).
After the quotation
The column then turns to the killing of Aboubakar Cissé, who was stabbed in April (translation).
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. Souleimane describes the passage on attacks against Muslims as a forecast rather than the provocation the complaints allege, which challenges the characterization. He 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
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
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. "Omar Youssef Souleimane calls the remarks a forecast and the case a use of the courts by Islamists". First published: 2026-11-12. Last updated: 2026-11-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/8675-in-a-le-figaro-column-souleimane-argues-that