Accusation of Islamophobia
Regarding the wearing of the veil, UNEF took a position in 2013 opposing its display within university premises.
However, in 2018, when a veiled UNEF official at Paris IV University faced criticism—some perceiving a contradiction with the union’s feminist values and the display of a religious symbol—UNEF defended her. Former UNEF president Bruno Julliard stated that “UNEF’s discourse in defending the veil tramples decades of struggle”. Similarly, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, another former president, remarked: “This veiled woman is a provocation. If UNEF does not return to a more union-focused approach, prioritising the defence of student rights, they will end up as a small sect”.
According to an investigation by Abel Mestre of Le Monde, UNEF established a prayer room in 2015 during a national collective meeting at the request of Muslim activists. The journalist noted that it was “an episode that will not be repeated”. The union later changed its approach, as its membership declined and agreements were made with Étudiants musulmans de France during several student elections.
In January 2018, alongside the union Solidaires étudiant-e-s at Paris VII University, UNEF attempted to prevent a performance of the play Letter to the Scammers of Islamophobia Who Play into the Hands of Racists, adapted from Charb’s book, on the grounds that the event “contributes to the racist construction of an internal enemy within a racialised and dangerous category: the Muslim”.
UNEF’s positions on these issues have been criticised by intellectuals, journalists, and political parties. Jack Dion, deputy editorial director of Marianne, argued that the union was rehabilitating blasphemy.
On 17 September 2020, during a parliamentary hearing on “COVID-19 and Youth,” three deputies from Les Républicains (Marianne Dubois, Pierre-Henri Dumont, Frédéric Reiss) and a representative of the presidential majority (Anne-Christine Lang) walked out in protest against the presence of UNEF vice-president Maryam Pougetoux, who was wearing a hijab. However, the committee chair, Sandrine Mörch, stated that “no rules prohibit the wearing of religious symbols for those being heard”.
On 19 October 2020, following the decapitation of history teacher Samuel Paty, UNEF members participating in demonstrations were booed, with attendees criticising statements made by UNEF officials regarding Islamism.
