French Islam Foundation loses public-interest status and state funding

The Foundation for Islam of France (FIF) has lost its status as a public-interest organization by decision of the country's Interior Ministry, along with state financial support, putting its continued existence at risk.

According to Report's European bureau, the ministry's decree was published in France's official gazette on August 13.

The status provided the foundation with a financial base of around €1.5 million annually and ensured state representation on its board of directors. In 2024, representatives of the secular organization warned that it could cease operations without additional funding.

FIF President Ghaleb Bencheikh, who has headed the foundation since 2018, told AFP that the "reduction and then termination of funding" had effectively brought the organization to this situation. He said the foundation had long faced financial difficulties and could now be dissolved.

The organization was established a year after the 2015 terrorist attacks and was initially headed by former Interior and Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement. It funded projects in Islamic culture, education, research and civic education.

In 2020, President Emmanuel Macron pledged €10 million to the foundation as part of his policy to combat separatism. According to Bencheikh, those funds were never received.

Over the past decade, the foundation has initiated numerous cultural programs, including the major exhibition "Islamic Art: A Past for the Present", held in 18 French cities in cooperation with the Louvre and RMN-Grand Palais. It has also awarded more than 250 scholarships to future imams, preachers and chaplains for university studies.