‘L’esprit de défense’: separatism, counterinsurgency and the dissolution of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France

ABSTRACT At the end of 2020, the Macron government decided to dismantle the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). The CCIF was the primary actor of anti-Islamophobia in France. Its dissolution and the end of its missions in France was a shock for Muslim communities and affected their perception of themselves as well as the trust they put in the rule of law. Macron’s government justified the CCIF’s dissolution in part by arguing that, by denouncing institutional Islamophobia, the organisation incited acts of terrorism against French institutions and its workers. However, the dismantling of the CCIF took place within the larger context of the Macron government’s frustration with the CCIF efforts to question its policies and defend Muslim rights. Thus, the reasons behind the dismantling of the CCIF demand further exploration. After explaining the social function of the CCIF, the events leading to its dissolution as well as its consequences, this paper argues that its dissolution was politically motivated and corresponds with a remodelling of the French colonial counterinsurgency doctrine used to fight against a largely fantasised Islamist separatist insurrection.