‘Islamo-leftism’: France enters its McCarthyist era

In recent weeks, another wave of political polarisation hit France, as the concept of “Islamo-leftism” occupied centre stage in a heated cultural debate. In an interview with CNews, the French equivalent of Fox News, Higher Education and Research Minister Frédérique Vidal was asked whether or not she agreed that “Islamo-leftism is plaguing universities”. She went on to say: “I am going to call for an investigation into all the currents of research on these subjects in the universities, so we can distinguish proper academic research from activism and opinion.” Vidal’s statement on “Islamo-leftism” is the latest in a string of similar pronouncements by elected officials in France. By adopting Le Pen’s racist language and demonising the left, and specifically Mélenchon’s party, Macron hopes to emerge again as the compromise candidate, the “lesser evil”, who the French people will vote for to avoid a far-right government and still feel protected from the “Islamist bogeyman”. Shortly after Vidal’s interview was aired, the National Centre for Scientific Research, the most prominent academic institution hosting the country’s finest minds from all scientific disciplines, published a statement rejecting her accusations and condemning “those who try to use to call into question academic freedom”.