French Parliament Exposes Muslim Brotherhood's Political Infiltration in Landmark Report

Parliamentary commission documents Muslim Brotherhood networks' systematic infiltration of French institutions while antisemitic incidents triple and far-left deputies meet with terror officials

The French National Assembly registered investigative Report No. 2235 on December 10, 2025, documenting how Muslim Brotherhood ideology and affiliated networks have systematically infiltrated French political institutions, local governments, and civil society—posing what lawmakers describe as an existential threat to the country's secular order and its Jewish communities.

This landmark investigation follows growing European scrutiny of Brotherhood networks. Jewish Onliner recently reported on a December 2024 European Parliament study by Dr. Florence Bergeaud-Blackler and Dr. Tommaso Virgili that exposed Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of EU funding mechanisms and policy structures, revealing how Brotherhood-affiliated organizations have systematically penetrated European institutions.

The report, filed by Commission President Xavier Breton and Rapporteur Matthieu Bloch, marks the most comprehensive parliamentary examination of Islamist political strategy in French history and builds upon a separate government-commissioned report released in May 2025 on Muslim Brotherhood infiltration.

The report’s central finding is stark: Islamist movements have deployed a calculated three-part strategy of “dissimulation, double-discourse, and victimization” to infiltrate France’s political and social infrastructure from within. This “entryism” (entrisme) has created what the report terms “separatist ecosystems”—parallel societies in cities like Lyon, Marseille, and across Northern France where networks of mosques, schools, charities, and sports clubs operate under religious law rather than French civil authority.

Documented Links Between Politicians and Terror-Linked Networks

The parliamentary investigation identified specific connections between elected officials—particularly within the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party—and organizations tied to designated terrorist groups. Deputy Thomas Portes traveled to Lebanon where he met with Marwan Abdel-al and Haitham Abdo, two officials of the U.S.-designated terror group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Portes has also met with Abu Amir Eleiwa, coordinator of Humani’Terre, an organization with documented ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

La France Insoumise deputy Thomas Portes posts about his Lebanon trip where he met with an official from U.S.-designated terrorist organization PFLP. Credit: Thomas Portes on X

While French intelligence services found no direct financial or “organic” links between national parties and Islamist organizations, the report identifies what it calls a “dangerous game” of electoral clientelism. LFI has implemented a deliberate strategy to capture the “Muslim vote” through identity-based grievances and instrumentalization of the Palestinian cause, according to the parliamentary findings. The report documents how Muslim voters increasingly support the far-left, with LFI emerging as the primary beneficiary of this demographic shift.

Muslim Brotherhood’s Institutional Architecture

The investigation mapped the Brotherhood’s organizational structure in France, centering on Musulmans de France (formerly known as UOIF until its 2017 rebranding). This network operates through European-level coordinating bodies including the Brussels-based Council of European Muslims (CEM) and FEMYSO (Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations), which lobbies EU institutions.

The report identifies specific institutions as key nodes in the Brotherhood’s educational and ideological infrastructure: the Instituts Européens des Sciences Humaines (IESH), which trains imams within the Brotherhood’s ideological framework, which has operated branches in areas including, Saint-Denis, Château-Chinon and Lycée Averroès in Lille.

Diagram of French Parliamentary Report No. 2235 findings on Muslim Brotherhood infiltration networks, political connections, and rising antisemitism in France

The investigation also documented networks including Urgence Palestine, Samidoun, a U.S.-designated terror group linked to the PFLP, Perspectives Musulmanes, and the reconstituted remnants of the dissolved CCIF (Collectif contre l’islamophobie en France), which allegedly operates from Belgium as CCIE.

Foreign influences identified include Turkey’s Millî Görüş and Diyanet networks, the Tabligh Jamaat movement, and historically the Muslim World League with Saudi connections. The report names prominent preachers Hassan Iquioussen (who received an expulsion order in 2022 for antisemitic rhetoric), Elias d’Imzalène, Omar Alsoumi, Idriss Sihamedi of BarakaCity, and former CCIF head Marwan Muhammad as key figures in the Islamist ecosystem.

Hassan Iquioussen, an alleged Muslim Brotherhood-linked preacher who was expelled from France, delivered a lecture praising Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Credit: Hassan Iquioussen on YouTube

Surge in Antisemitism Parallels Islamist Expansion

The report documents an alarming correlation between Islamist infiltration and antisemitic violence. Antisemitic incidents in the first semester of 2024 nearly tripled compared to the same period in 2023—887 acts versus 304—representing 62% of all anti-religious attacks despite Jews comprising less than 1% of France’s population, according to intelligence service data cited in the report.

Investigators documented a pattern of semantic manipulation where the term “Zionist” substitutes for “Jew” to deploy classical antisemitic tropes while evading hate speech laws. Witnesses testified to rhetoric about “Zionist plots” controlling media and government—the same conspiracy theories historically directed at Jews, now repackaged.

The report catalogs disturbing incidents on university campuses: At Paris 8 in October 2024, participants at a pro-Palestinian demonstration praised the October 7 massacres, prompting a Justice Ministry investigation for terrorism apology. At Lyon 3, students posted an Instagram poll asking “Who likes Jews?” with one response option stating: “Not me, I shoot them.” At Sciences Po, a Jewish student was barred from entering an occupied amphitheater because radical activists labeled her a “Zionist.”

Image of a pro-Palestinian event at Sciences Po University in Paris in which a Jewish student was banned from entering. Credit: European Jewish Congress

Threat to French Secularism and Youth

The investigation found that 57% of young Muslims aged 15-24 believe Sharia law should take precedence over French Republic law, according to survey data cited in the report. Schools reported breaches of laïcité (secularism).

In one egregious case documented in Colombes, the mayor’s chief of staff simultaneously served as secretary general of a Brotherhood-aligned mosque and director of a radical Quranic school.

Social Media Radicalization of Youth

The report warns that Islamist movements have created “virtual preaching machines” on platforms like TikTok to bypass traditional institutional filters and radicalize younger generations. These digital networks spread Brotherhood ideology and antisemitic content directly to French youth, circumventing parental and educational oversight.

International Implications

The French report adds momentum to growing international scrutiny of Muslim Brotherhood networks. In May 2025, France’s Interior Ministry released a separate government-commissioned report warning of Brotherhood infiltration at municipal levels. European Parliament conservatives have alleged the group has pushed fundamentalist agendas throughout Europe.

For France’s Jewish community, which has experienced historically high levels of antisemitism in recent years, the report validates concerns about connections between Islamist ideology and anti-Jewish violence. CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France) recorded 1,570 antisemitic incidents in 2024, representing an ongoing crisis despite a slight decrease from 2023’s record levels.