THE EUROPEAN CONSERVATIVE -- Islamists in France have found a new target—Barbie. In Noisy-le-Sec, a suburb of Paris, Muslim youths shut down an outdoor screening of the 2023 film, claiming it promoted homosexuality and insulted women.
The group threatened council staff and damaged equipment, forcing the event’s cancellation. Communist mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse condemned the disruption, rescheduled the showing, and filed a criminal complaint, insisting “there is no cultural no-go zone.” But incidents like this suggest otherwise.
France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim population, has seen repeated confrontations with Islamist activists. In May, Middle East expert Fabrice Balanche was attacked during a lecture, while anthropologist Florence Bergeaud-Blackler now lives under police protection after threats linked to her research on the Muslim Brotherhood.
A government report warned that the Brotherhood has been creating “local ecosystems” to shape Muslim life under sharia norms. Interior minister Bruno Retailleau noted that Islamists are infiltrating institutions to bend French society toward their ideology. President Emmanuel Macron has since proposed laws to curb foreign funding and sanction groups tied to Islamist networks.