The news platform Dark Box published an investigative report revealing an organised campaign led by the United Arab Emirates to target political and media voices supporting the Palestinian cause inside France, foremost among them the left-wing party La France Insoumise.
The gravity of what has been uncovered lies not only in the targeting but in the identity of the target itself. This is a legitimate French political party with broad parliamentary and popular representation, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, one of the country’s most prominent political figures and a former presidential candidate.
Mélenchon did not make his accusations lightly. He publicly stated that his party had become “a target of the UAE”, a claim that was translated into concrete action when the party filed an official complaint with the French public prosecutor. This rare step reflects the depth of concern over foreign interference that directly touches French sovereignty.
The Dark Box investigation linked this targeting to a form of “covert” media activity carried out by digital platforms, most notably the magazine Écran de Veille, which published surveys and content seemingly designed to stir fear of the “Islamisation of France”. This amounted to a crude reproduction of far-right discourse, presented through media fronts claiming “research neutrality”.
This discourse prompted several Islamic organisations to file formal complaints, arguing that the magazine was engaging in systematic incitement against Muslims.
More alarmingly, the investigation uncovered organic links between this magazine and another organisation called Global Watch Analysis, known for adopting Emirati political narratives and for repeatedly launching campaigns against Qatar and against any actor or movement broadly and deliberately categorised under the label of “political Islam”. The founder of this organisation, Atman Tzégart, is a figure well known for his fierce hostility toward Islamic culture and, according to the investigation, has ties to a Swiss intelligence company called Alp Services.
Dark Box confirmed that it had reviewed documents indicating that this company played a central role in preparing files targeting thousands of individuals and hundreds of organisations across Europe, by forcibly linking them to the Muslim Brotherhood. These targets included La France Insoumise itself. This is not investigative journalism, but rather a pattern closer to “political labelling”, used as a weapon to smear opponents and strip them of legitimacy.
Concerns within La France Insoumise intensified after two figures associated with Écran de Veille, Nora Boussigny and Emmanuel Razavi, were summoned to testify before a parliamentary inquiry committee on what is termed “Islamic infiltration” of French politics. Such a summons, within a climate charged with Islamophobia, demonstrates how these media arms can move from public defamation to direct influence over parliamentary work.
According to the investigation, the accumulation of complaints pushed the French Ministry of the Interior to open an official inquiry into Emirati interference, particularly following the case of MP Carlos Martins Bilongo, who criticised the Emirati role during the 2023 climate summit. He was confronted with a report falsely accusing him of financial crimes, only for it to emerge later that the file was fabricated and linked to pressure connected to the UAE.
All of this cannot be separated from the broader framework of Emirati policies. The starting point was hostility toward political Islam and alliances with authoritarian regimes, foremost among them the Egyptian regime, under the pretext of “combating the Muslim Brotherhood”.
What followed, however, was a complete slide into a dangerous triad. An open alliance with Israel, including the pursuit of anyone who supports Palestine even within Europe. The fuelling of internal conflicts through the financing of militias and mercenaries in Libya, Sudan, and Yemen. And alliances with far-right parties in Europe to promote discourse hostile to Islam and Muslims.
Hostility toward political Islam, regardless of one’s position on it, does not justify alliances with this destructive model. The UAE is not fighting “extremism”, but producing counter extremism, transforming state instruments into a transnational network of influence that strikes European democracies, targets Palestinians, and financially and politically blackmails Arab regimes.
Most dangerous of all is that this behaviour continues without a collective Arab response. The dependence of some states, foremost among them Egypt, on Emirati financial support has paralysed their ability to take independent positions and opened the door to Emirati control over strategic assets and sovereign decisions.
Accordingly, what is unfolding in France is not merely an internal French matter, but an early warning of what these policies can do to Muslim communities, to the Palestinian cause, and to the stability of states. Silence is no longer an option, and treating the UAE as a “neutral” actor is no longer possible. We are facing a system that exports destabilisation, and it must be stopped at its borders, in defence of Palestine, Arab societies, and democracies that have themselves become direct targets.
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