Another wave of violent riots swept through French cities over the weekend, exposing just how far Europe, and the Western world as a whole, is being dragged toward the abyss by the unholy alliance between the radical left and extremist Islamism.
These two destructive forces have divided the work between them. The left lays the groundwork, providing the protests with a veneer of legitimacy. To justify them, it seizes on whatever issue happens to be making headlines, something capable of inflaming passions and igniting the streets. Sometimes it is rising fuel prices, sometimes the war in Gaza, and this time it is the failings of France's education system.
Once the stage is set, the thugs move in, most of them immigrants from Islamist backgrounds, seizing control of the streets and unleashing violence and destruction. Even then, the left refuses to abandon its Islamist partner, offering political cover and propaganda support. It insists that the rioters are not to blame, demands that the police be restrained and calls for "tolerance," while opposing the punishment the protesters deserve.
An alliance of extremist interests
The problem runs far deeper than the riots themselves. For years, political ties have been growing between large sections of Europe's radical left and extremist Islamist movements. This is not a formal alliance, nor do the two camps share an ideology on every issue. Rather, their interests overlap, and they are united by a common objective.
Both the far left and Islamist extremists despise Western civilization, built on Judeo-Christian values, and seek to bring it down. Neither shies away from violence, which both regard as a legitimate means of achieving their goals. And both increasingly recognize that they have little chance of succeeding at the ballot box unless they join forces.
In France's approaching presidential election, the red-green alliance will seek to stop the French right, led by Marine Le Pen, the leading figure in the National Rally party.
Just as the Israeli left cannot secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset without the votes of representatives from anti-Zionist Arab parties, the French left, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the founder of the left-wing France Unbowed movement, has no chance of defeating Le Pen, or even reaching the second round of the presidential election, without the support of Muslim immigrant voters.
Hatred of Israel brings them together
The alliance between the radical left and Islamism was initially forged on a shared foundation of antisemitism. The hatred of Israel that characterizes both camps brought them together. In the massive demonstrations following the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, we saw red flags flying alongside those of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas, above crowds chanting slogans reminiscent of those heard in German squares in the 1930s.
It is no coincidence that Mélenchon, who moved from the Communist Party to the Socialists before founding his own political movement, refused to condemn the Oct. 7 massacre. He apparently understood, before his fellow leftists did, that the pool of voters who supported the massacre could serve him both at the ballot box and in the streets.
Since then, his alliance with extremist Islamism has only grown more sophisticated and more effective. Jews and Israel were its first victims, but the ambitions of these two partners extend much further. They seek to take control of France and ultimately all of Europe.
Variations of this red-green alliance can be found in every Western European country and, more recently, in the US as well. Look no further than Rep. Ilhan Omar and Zohran Mamdani.
Over the weekend, this alliance set fire to the city hall in Limoges, France. But the flames of its extremism threaten to consume us all, and not merely in a metaphorical sense.
