Amid French Riots, Leftist Narrative Explodes

But will that stop the plans of the political and media elites? Probably not.

Amid all the leftist and Muslim rioting in France, the guardians of the old leftist order looked as if they were on the ropes. As the government and police seemed unable to stop the violence, France looked ever closer to becoming either an Islamic republic or electing Marine Le Pen president and fighting back strongly against Islamization. But then an incident unfolded that seemed tailor-made to the left’s narrative that the problem in French society (and Western societies in general) is really “right-wing extremists,” not Muslim or leftist rioters. There was just one problem: it exploded almost immediately. But will that stop Macron and his henchmen from exploiting it for all it’s worth, and then some? Almost certainly not.

It all began last Friday, when a man in the Paris suburbs starting shooting people at random, killing one person. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez immediately said that this was “clearly a terrorist crime.” Ali Rabeh, the Muslim mayor of Trappes, one of the suburbs where the shootings took place, said: “What we witnessed today was, objectively speaking, an attack with a racist connotation, and likely an Islamophobic one. The people who were targeted today could have been my mother, my brothers, my sisters-in-law.”

France’s far-left President Emmanuel Macron piled on, declaring: “What happened today is, I am telling you, a turning point, because it is ​the first time we have had a terrorist act that was planned to kill our compatriots, ​our children, based on the color of their skin or their religion.”

This was so howlingly false in light of the many attacks that jihadis have carried out in France that had to backtrack almost immediately, saying: “I also want to recall an essential truth and avoid any controversy: in recent years, our country has experienced attacks that targeted Christians because they were Christians and Jews because they were Jews. None of these victims must be forgotten. No pain must be ranked above another. And I want nothing tonight to add to the grief of the families, to the sorrow of the country, or to the nation’s solemn reflection.”

Nevertheless, there was little doubt that the French political and media elites intended to play up this “Islamophobic” killing as much as they could, so as to show that despite the heavy presence of Muslims in the riots, they were actually victims in need of protection from violent “right-wing extremists.” And above all, France should not become so “Islamophobic” as to elect Marine Le Pen president.

Stateside, the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) immediately jumped on, claiming that it “condemned” the attack and stating: “We stand in complete solidarity with the victims, their families, and the Muslim and minority communities of France during this painful time. We urge authorities to conduct a thorough, transparent investigation into the attacker’s motives, and we call on political leaders in France, our own nation elsewhere to stop fanning the flames of anti-Muslim hate.”

There was just one problem. The victim wasn’t actually Muslim at all. Le Parisien on Sunday carried an interview with Ritsia Wangi, the twin sister of the man who was killed, Pengo Bossio Wangi. Ritsia Wangi said: “I have faith—I’m a Christian, and so was he. I’m holding out hope for a miracle, because otherwise, I don’t see how I can go on living.”

If Pengo Bossio Wangi was a Christian, then the whole house of cards came tumbling down. There was no “Islamophobic” attack for Macron and Laurent Nuñez and Ali Rabeh to condemn. There was no counter-narrative to blunt the disgust and horror many French citizens feel at the largely Muslim riots that have been convulsing the country.

Will that stop the opinion-shapers and manipulators of the left? Of course not. For leftist propagandists, truth is not what matters. A claim can be false, but if it advances the leftist cause, it’s more valuable than a true claim. If Macron and his henchmen can convince enough people that a wave of “Islamophobia” is besetting France, they just might be able to keep themselves in power for the next few years, which they could use to implement authoritarian measures that will keep them in power indefinitely. The incident in Trappes could be their springboard to ultimate victory. At least, that is, until their Muslim allies start demanding their own rightful place among the top dogs.