Muslim Brotherhood Infiltration Shakes France’s Left: Bleeding Inside Mélenchon’s Party
A new crisis has erupted within La France insoumise (LFI), the far-left party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, following the resignation of trade unionist Cédric Brun, who warned of “Muslim Brotherhood infiltration” inside the movement.
This warning brings back to the forefront the growing debate over the relationship between France’s far-left and certain religiously affiliated groups, at a time when Mélenchon’s stance on political Islam is increasingly criticized. It also marks a turning point in the relationship between the French left and extremist religious forces, amid repeated accusations of using religion for political and electoral purposes under the banner of “cultural pluralism.”
Warning and Resignation
Cédric Brun, a member of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council and a trade unionist at the PSA plant in Valenciennes, warned against what he described as “Muslim Brotherhood penetration” within the ranks of La France insoumise, before announcing his temporary withdrawal from the party.
In an interview with Europe 1, Brun said that the rise of figures close to the Brotherhood represents “a direct threat to French secular values and to the labor movement,” warning that “the situation could explode at any moment.”
He pointed specifically to Sofiane Hikiouzen, son of preacher Hassan Hikiouzen, who was expelled to Morocco for “hate speech and religious incitement,” and who now holds local leadership positions within the movement.
Brun said: “People like him are now among the local leaders of the party, enjoying the support of LFI’s leadership.”
He added that he had repeatedly tried to alert regional representatives in northern France, but his warnings were ignored: “Whenever I brought up the issue, they told me not to worry. When I asked if they knew who this person was, they said yes, but that they couldn’t do without him. It’s insane! Abandoning the working class to such people is a real disaster.”
“The situation is worse than what is said in the media”
According to Brun, the reality is far more alarming than what has been publicly discussed: “What journalists and writers have described so far only shows a small part of the problem. Those who call me an extremist today will realize in a few months or years that I was right, and that the situation is even worse than they imagined.”
A staunch defender of French secularism, Brun insisted that his commitment cannot coexist with the political exploitation of religion, stressing that the French left must remain true to republican and rational values, independent of any religious or sectarian influence.
A Series of Resignations Within LFI
According to Europe 1, Cédric Brun is not the first to leave La France insoumise at the regional level. In 2023, Julien Pois, former head of the party’s list in the Lille municipal elections, also resigned, denouncing at the time a lack of internal democracy within the organization.
This latest departure comes as La France insoumise faces an increasingly heated debate over its ideological direction and social alliances, amid internal criticism that the party tolerates conservative religious networks under the guise of “cultural diversity.”
The Contradictions of France’s Far Left
In his book “The Conspirators of Evil,” Franco-Syrian writer Omar Youssef Suleiman revealed links between the Muslim Brotherhood in France and La France insoumise.
Through in-depth research, Suleiman exposed the contradictions in LFI’s discourse on political Islam and the Middle East, highlighting ambiguous connections between France’s far left and Islamist movements active in the country.
He warned that such ideological alliances pose a direct threat to the French Republic’s values, risking to transform the left into a vehicle for sectarian or religious agendas alien to its historical principles of reason, equality, and secularism.
