The majority of the French public is in favour of banning groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood network, which seeks to advance Islamist principles in the West, such as the adoption of Sharia law.
A survey from the Ifop polling agency found that 53 per cent of people in France are in favour of a ban on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organisations, Le Figaro reported. This compares to 23 per cent who oppose a ban and 24 per cent who are undecided on the issue.
Surprisingly, the survey found support for a ban across the political spectrum. According to Ifop, those who supported the Républicains candidate in the last general election were most in favour at 83 per cent, followed by 69 per cent of those who voted for anti-Islamification stalwart Éric Zemmour.
Perhaps more intriguingly, the same percentage of supporters of the populist National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, the liberal President Emmanuel Macron, and the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon were in favour of a ban, at 54 per cent each.
The survey found a significant divide in opinion by gender: 62 per cent of men favour a ban, compared with just 43 per cent of women.
Opinion was nearly evenly split among Muslims in France, with 38 per cent in favour of a ban on groups tied to the Brotherhood, 43 per cent opposed, and 19 per cent undecided.
Among those Muslims in favour of a ban, half said they believe it could “reduce the reasons for conflating Islam and Islamism” or would serve to “strengthen national cohesion and respect for the laws of the Republic”.
In contrast, those who opposed a ban, 41 per cent said that it would represent “a form of discrimination against Islam and all Muslims”.
The survey comes after the National Assembly passed a non-binding resolution from the Républicains calling on the European Commission to formally classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.
Under President Donald Trump, the United States announced in November a review to determine whether to classify Muslim Brotherhood branches as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), including its founding chapter in Egypt.
The issue of the Muslim Brotherhood was brought to the forefront of French politics last year after an internal government review was leaked to the press, revealing that the security services understood that the Islamist organisation had been waging a decades-long campaign of infiltrating French and other European institutions with the aim of subverting the West.
The alleged “conquest strategy” also includes the radicalisation of Muslim migrant populations by using local institutions to enforce strict adherence to hardline Islamic practices. The strategy has apparently borne fruit, with a recent survey finding that 18-25-year-old Muslims are significantly more radical than previous generations, surpassing the “most pessimistic estimates” about the failures of integration.