"Bismillah, C'est Les Tenebres": What Slogan Dominating France Protests Means

As student protests continue in France, a new slogan has been taken up by the demonstrators. Heard in recent protests, the cry “Bismillah, c'est les tenebres" has become the unofficial slogan of the agitation.

The cry mixes the Islamic blessing, which means “In the name of God,” with a French slang for a grim situation that translates to “It's the darkness.”

Photo Credit: AFP

The slogan does not make much sense at first. But it is seen as a shorthand for a generational divide, as per The New York Times.

How Did The Slogan Gain Popularity?

The sentence was reportedly first used on Snapchat by someone seeking entry to a private chat room of student protest organisers.

The user addressed Snapchat users with the greeting “Bismillah, c'est les tenebres,” a seemingly nonsensical phrase that appeared to mimic the blend of Arabic and French that young people in the country sometimes use.

The writer added, “We are going to break everything.”

The poster reportedly sent the message multiple times under different profile names such as Mamadou and Abdellah, using accounts that featured Algerian flag emojis.

Many protestors suspected that the messages came from law enforcement officials who were trying to infiltrate the demonstrations.

They quickly adopted “Bismillah, c'est les tenebres” as a slogan meant to mock the attempt by the authorities to dismantle their protest.

The ministry did admit that law enforcement officials sometimes used online personas to communicate with people suspected of organising unlawful activities during demonstrations, as per NYT.

For the protestors, the slogan and its awkward wording signal the generational divide between their agitation and a government that has largely denied their demands.

The slogan has also spread beyond France, with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg repeating it in an Instagram clip shared by an account that expressed solidarity with the student movement.

The phrase has also been heard in Belgium and Italy, as per EuroNews.

Why Are French Students Protesting?

Student protests started in France's Creteil last month and quickly spread throughout the country. The demonstrations have been agitating against overcrowded classrooms, teacher absences, long school days, and crumbling facilities.

The forceful response of the police have further galvanised the protests.

The student protests gradually merged with a national movement of labour unions and other groups against the cost of living. On October 17, the demonstrations ended in some of the worst rioting and looting France has witnessed in years.