Why are French protesters chanting ‘Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres’?

For students, the slogan has come to represent a whole array of grievances that lie at the heart of the protest movement.

French high school and university students attend a demonstration in Nantes with a placard reading 'Bismillah c'est les tenebres' [File: Stephane Mahe/Reuters]

As violent protests roil France, bringing together students demanding better educational conditions and groups rejecting the high cost of living, one chant has become an improbable rallying cry: “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres”.

The unofficial slogan does not mean much taken literally, but students have channelled a whole array of grievances that lie at the heart of the protest movement into this nonsensical expression. It is meant to mock racial stereotyping by the police.

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Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets nationwide over the weekend, in the largest mobilisation since protests over education reforms and rising prices began last month. The protest movement has been triggered by grievances ranging from overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages to systemic inequality and lack of opportunity.

Police conduct has also come under scrutiny. France’s police inspectorate, the IGPN, has opened dozens of investigations into alleged police violence since protests began.

What does the slogan mean?

“Bismillah” is Arabic for “in the name of God”, an expression used by Muslims before beginning an activity. In French slang, it has lost some of its original meaning, becoming more akin to “let’s do it”.

“C’est les ténèbres” literally translates as “it’s the darkness”, which alludes to a situation that is bleak and hopeless.

The slogan therefore translates as “In the name of God, it’s the darkness”, which does not convey a clear message in and of itself.

Where did the slogan come from?

Students say the phrase is a mockery of the police force, which tried to infiltrate social media chats used by protesters to coordinate.

The screenshot of a Snapchat conversation featuring the expression began circulating in early October. In it, a user named Mamadou requests to be added to a group, saying: “Hi, in the name of God, it’s the darkness. When’s the blockade, wallah, bro?”

The message also featured emojis with Algerian flags.

Students say the message was sent by undercover police officers attempting to infiltrate their chats by using an unconvincing mix of Arabic and slang. The claim has not been verified and French authorities have not issued any statement.

Youssef El Chazli, associate professor in Arab and Mediterranean sociology at Paris 8 University Vincennes – Saint-Denis, said the phrase “reinforces an image of out-of-touch policemen filled with stereotypes”.

“Such stereotypes appear to disproportionately aim at youths from Arab and African descent,” El Chazli told Al Jazeera. “This appears as one more example of how out-of-touch state agencies seem to be with the current movement.”

What does the slogan tell us about the protest movement?

The slogan has appeared on cardboard placards as a mockery of racial stereotypes and as a symbol of how authorities are out of touch with the realities of young people.

The slogan has spread as far as Italy and Belgium, where similar protests over the high cost of living and poor education also took place over the weekend.

El Chazli said satirical memes and internet trends have become tools to express political grievances during protests, which have traditionally been “inventive and creative”. “With youth mobilisations, protest creativity will draw heavily on youths’ subcultures,” he said.

Discussions around Islamophobia have also taken a front seat in public debate. French authorities have been reluctant to comment publicly on a significant spike in Islamophobic acts in France. One report cited by the Reuters news agency last year showed a 72 percent increase in such incidents during the January-March quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

The French far right quickly resorted to racist language to blame Muslim youths for the violence, while United States President Donald Trump also chimed in, claiming that this is about “Islam wanting to take over”.

“What used to be a nonsubject 20 years ago is now a debated point,” El Chazli said. “For younger generations, Arab and African influences have been steadily mainstreaming in youth subcultures, owing to sports and arts figures, as well as new radio shows or social media content.”

对于学生而言，这句口号代表了抗议运动核心的一系列不满。

法国高中生和大学生在南特参加示威游行，举着写有“Bismillah c'est les tenebres”的标语牌。[图片：Stephane Mahe/路透社]

在法国爆发暴力抗议活动之际，要求改善教育条件的学生和反对高昂生活成本的团体走到了一起，一句口号意外地成为了集结号：“Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres”。

这句非官方口号如果按字面意思理解，意义不大，但学生们却将抗议运动核心的一系列不满情绪都融入到这句看似荒谬的口号中。它意在讽刺警察的种族歧视行为。

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上周末，全国各地数十万人走上街头，这是自上个月教育改革和物价上涨抗议活动开始以来规模最大的一次民众动员。这场抗议运动的导火索包括教室拥挤、教师短缺、系统性不平等以及机会匮乏等一系列问题。

警方行为也受到了审查。自抗议活动开始以来，法国警察监察局（IGPN）已对数十起涉嫌警察暴力事件展开调查。

这句口号是什么意思？

“Bismillah”是阿拉伯语，意为“奉真主之名”，是穆斯林在开始某项活动前使用的表达方式。在法语俚语中，它失去了部分原意，更接近于“开始吧”。

“C'est les ténèbres”字面意思是“黑暗”，暗示着一种凄凉绝望的处境。

因此，这句口号翻译过来就是“以神的名义，黑暗降临”，这本身并没有传达一个明确的信息。

这个口号是怎么来的？

学生们表示，这句话是对警方的嘲讽，警方曾试图渗透到抗议者用来协调行动的社交媒体聊天中。

一张包含该表达的 Snapchat 对话截图于 10 月初开始流传。截图中，一位名叫 Mamadou 的用户请求加入一个群组，并说道：“嗨，以真主的名义，现在是黑暗时期。封锁什么时​​候解除，兄弟，真主作证？”

信息中还包含带有阿尔及利亚国旗的表情符号。

学生们称，这条信息是便衣警察试图通过混用阿拉伯语和俚语来渗透他们的聊天群而发送的。该说法尚未得到证实，法国当局也未发表任何声明。

巴黎第八大学文森-圣丹尼斯分校阿拉伯和地中海社会学副教授优素福·埃尔·查兹利表示，这句话“强化了人们对脱离实际、充满刻板印象的警察的印象”。

“这种刻板印象似乎不成比例地针对阿拉伯裔和非洲裔青年，”埃尔·查兹利告诉半岛电视台。“这似乎又一次表明，国家机构与当前的运动有多么脱节。”

这个口号告诉我们关于这场抗议运动的什么信息？

这句口号出现在纸板标语牌上，既是对种族刻板印象的嘲讽，也是对当局与年轻人现实脱节的象征。

这一口号已经传播到意大利和比利时，这两个国家周末也爆发了类似的抗议活动，抗议高昂的生活成本和糟糕的教育。

埃尔·查兹利表示，讽刺性表情包和网络潮流已成为抗议活动中表达政治不满的工具，而抗议活动历来都“富有创意和想象力”。他说道：“随着青年动员的增加，抗议活动的创造力将很大程度上借鉴青年亚文化。”

围绕伊斯兰恐惧症的讨论也已成为公共辩论的焦点。法国当局一直不愿就法国境内伊斯兰恐惧症事件的显著激增发表公开评论。路透社去年援引的一份报告显示，2025年1月至3月期间，此类事件比2024年同期增加了72%。

法国极右翼迅速诉诸种族主义言论，将暴力事件归咎于穆斯林青年，而美国总统唐纳德·特朗普也插话进来，声称这是“伊斯兰教想要接管”。

“20年前还不是个话题，现在却成了争论的焦点，”埃尔·查兹利说。“对于年轻一代来说，由于体育和艺术界人士，以及新的广播节目或社交媒体内容，阿拉伯和非洲的影响正在稳步渗透到青年亚文化中。”