Le Pen to Muslims mulling leaving France: “Islam is compatible with the Republic”

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said Muslims considering leaving France if she is elected are “wrong,” insisting that “Islam is compatible with the Republic,” after a poll showed 46% of Muslims might consider leaving.

National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told CNews on Thursday that Muslims considering leaving France if she wins the 2027 election are wrong. “It is their country, they are French,” she said, adding that she wants to be president of all French people.

“Islam is compatible with the Republic. What is not compatible with the Republic is sharia and Islamist fundamentalism,” Le Pen said, distinguishing between the practice of Islam, which she said she respects, and Islamist fundamentalism, which she vowed to fight.

The Grand Mosque of Paris (file photo)

Poll: 46% of Muslims consider leaving

Her remarks came after an Ifop poll for Marianne magazine found that 46% of Muslims in France would consider leaving if Le Pen wins, compared with 21% of the general population. Only 20% of Muslims considering leaving said they would “certainly” do so. The survey polled 9,689 people from Sept. 25-30.