Has Uncontrolled Migration Brought France to Brink of Civil War?
This letter was preceded by at least nine recent jihadist attacks in France. None of the jihadist attackers were on any law enforcement watchlist. This indicated to many that national authorities had lost control of migration and public safety. Another attack occurred just two days after the letter was published, when an illegal immigrant from Tunisia, crying “Allahu Akbar,” (Allah is greater.) stabbed a 49-year old female police employee to death at a police station near Paris. In October 2020, an 18-year old Chechen migrant beheaded a 47-year old history teacher in a Paris suburb. More recently, the French public was outraged when France’s highest judicial court refused to try a 32-year old migrant from Mali, also crying “Allahu Akbar,” who had murdered an elderly Jewish lady. The court ruled he could not be tried because he was allegedly in the grip of a cannabis-induced delusional fit, and therefore had no control over his actions. The French public was already indignant over political correctness in the French justice system. There were mass protests in Paris and other French cities. President Macron has called for a change in the law on criminal responsibility.
Here is an abbreviated translation of the generals’ appeal to President Emmanuel Macron, government administrators, and Members of Parliament:
“The hour is grave. France is in peril. She is threatened by several mortal dangers. We who even in retirement remain soldiers of France, cannot, under the present circumstances, remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.”
“Our tricolor flags are not just pieces of cloth. They symbolize the tradition of those who, throughout the ages, whatever their skin color or religion, served France and gave their lives for her. On these flags, we find, the golden letters, the golden words, ‘Honor and Fatherland.’ Today our honor rests on denouncing the disintegration of our country.”
“Disintegration which, through a certain type of anti-racism, has a single goal: to create division, even hatred, between communities on our soil. Today some speak of racism, nativism, and colonialism, but by using these terms, hateful and fanatic partisans are trying to spark a racial war. They despise our country, her traditions, and her culture, and by attempting to erase her past and her history, want to see her relegated to the dustbin of history. With this objective they destroy statues and twist centuries-old words and phrases, all to overturn our past military and civilian glories.
“Disintegration which, with Islamism and the suburban hordes, leads to the detachment of large parts of our nation to transform them into territories that are subject to dogmas contrary to our Constitution…there cannot and must not exist any city or district where the laws of the Republic do not apply.”
“It is imperative that the leaders of our country find the courage required to eradicate these dangers. To do this, it is often sufficient to enforce, with determination, existing laws.”
Near the end of the letter, the generals warn of the consequences of not firmly addressing these problems:
“Ultimately there will be an explosion…the time for procrastination is over.”
The Harris-LCI poll also indicated that 86 percent of the French agreed that the laws of the Republic were not being enforced in many towns and districts. This obviously pertains to the “no-go” zones of Muslim concentration. Eighty-four percent believed that violence is growing in France. Seventy-four percent believe a certain form of anti-racism exacerbates hate between communities. Seventy-three percent believe French society is disintegrating. Sixty-two percent were displeased with government intervention in and scapegoating of populist anti-Macron government Yellow Vest protests.
The population of France is 68.0 million. About 6.0 million of these are Muslim migrants born outside of France, mostly from former French colonies in North Africa. These are about 9 percent of the population. However, there are two to three million more second or third generation Muslim immigrants, bringing the total to 12 to 13 percent of the population. They have never integrated into the French population and live predominantly in about 1,500 almost exclusively Muslim neighborhoods, most concentrated in the Paris suburbs. The French government has classified these as “Sensitive Urban Zones,” Many of them have become separate Islamic societies, where Sharia (Islamic Law) prevails rather than French laws. French Muslims are increasingly rejecting French culture and law and increasingly devoted to the jihadic radicalism found in Sharia Law, the Koran, and the Sunna (teachings and example of Muhammad). These Sensitive Urban Zones are essentially synonymous with dangerous “no-go” zones.
Muslim failure to integrate into French society should not be surprising to those familiar with Sharia, the Koran, and Muhammad’s Sunna. Muslims are strongly warned against integrating with non-Muslim cultures except for the purpose of ultimate Muslim dominance. The goal of Muhammad was Islamic dominance, not integration—that is what jihad, which is often preceded by years of infiltration and migration, is all about. Muslim demands for Western accommodations to Islam and the extent of jihadic violence escalate as their population and influence increase. The Pew Research Center estimates the Muslim population will be 13 to 20 percent by 2050, depending on immigration and birthrates. They are already a powerful political minority, which generally supports leftist politicians and political parties.
According to the French newspaper Journal du Dimarche, an April 24 survey indicated that 86 percent of the French believe security, terrorism, and delinquency will be the top issues in the April 2022 national elections. Conservative Marine Le Pen is now running ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron in the first primary polls. Macron is only one point ahead of her in a runoff poll.
Many government officials strongly opposed the warning of national crisis published by the retired French generals. Prime Minister Jean Castex called the letter “contrary to all our republican principles, to the honor and duty of the army.” He then called on Parliament to pass legislation giving permanent authority to telecommunication companies to monitor telephone conversations and webpages. Defense Minister Florence Parly vowed to punish any signer still serving in the military, citing possible violations of “neutrality and loyalty.”
Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, however, endorsed the generals’ published letter, but called for democratic processes for needed change and actions. She further stated:
“…I believe that it is the duty of all French patriots, wherever they may come from, to stand up for the recovery and even, let’s say it, the salvation of the country….The very recent declarations of the President of the Republic on his project to ‘deconstruct the history of France,’ do indeed show us that these harmful drifts do not result from a moment of distraction but from a political direction driven by fundamentally corrupting ideological considerations.”
Former Justice Minister Rachida Dati also supported the generals, saying,
“What is written is reality. When you have a country plagued by urban guerilla warfare, when you have a very regular and very high terrorist threat…we cannot say that the country is doing well….Today, the police have become a target for terrorists, and I consider that the police are not supported enough, including by institutions and especially the judiciary. I am afraid that the police will crack one day, and if they crack, we will go well beyond the disintegration of society.”
“The Battle for France,” as Marine Le Pen has termed it, may really be the battle for Western Europe. Americans are quick to criticize France, but we should remember that we have much common ground. We should remember that French help and the French fleet in the Chesapeake Bay on August 30, 1781, played a decisive role in Washington’s defeat of British troops under Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. If it were not for the French, we might not be the United States.
The events in France are extraordinarily similar to the political, social, and cultural situation in the United States. The letter published by the retired French generals is also an appropriate and serious warning to us. Our danger may be even greater, because of the advancing dominance of social Marxist radicalism in the Democratic Party, mainstream media, educational establishment, and big corporations. We are already in a Battle for America.