The Right to Visibility: The Banlieue Politics of FrançAis & Musulmans

This paper examines the origins, discourse, and significance of a new political party that is active in Montreuil: Français & Musulmans. This party identifies as its primary interest the realities of life in the suburbs of Paris. While “Muslim” appears in the title, the party describes itself as secular: its chief focus is not on Islam and its membership is not limited to Muslims. The title demonstrates an awareness, born of previous legislative experiences, that Muslims who run for office will be labeled as “Muslim candidates” whether they foreground their religious affiliation or not. Rather than vainly attempt to bury candidates’ Muslim identity and all the assumptions and debates that come with it, Français & Musulmans openly acknowledges the presence of Muslims in its membership roster. This paper interrogates how the party’s discourse suggests that the category of “Muslim” in France has surpassed that of a religious affiliation and has come to represent a kind of political and economic oppression. The paper then considers whether this party represents a new kind of resistance to racially exclusionary national narratives, or whether it represents the continuation of a historical lineage of anti-colonial movements and claims in France.