'Bismillah' slogan spreads on banners at student protests in France

PARIS — A phrase mixing Arabic and French, "Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres", has spread from social media to banners at student protests in France in October 2026, according to Turkish and Indonesian media reports.

The phrase combines the Arabic "bismillah", meaning "in the name of God", with the French "c'est les ténèbres", roughly "it is darkness". Republika, an Indonesian outlet, translated it as "In the name of God, this is darkness". Turkish outlet TGRT Haber rendered it as "Everywhere is dark".

Origin in a chat message

According to Republika, the phrase comes from a screenshot of a Snapchat conversation that circulated in early October. Students suspected that an account was posing as a pupil to enter group chats used to organise school blockades.

Republika, citing Middle East Eye, quoted a message from a user named Mamadou. It read: "Salut! Bismillah c'est les ténèbres. C'est quand le blocus wallah mon frangin. On va tous casser. Met moi dans le groupe blocus Aichek." Republika translated this as a greeting, a question about when the blockade would start, a statement that "we will break everything" and a request to be added to the blockade group.

TGRT Haber, citing TV5Monde, reported that the account used an Algerian flag emoji. It said students believed the user was a police officer trying to infiltrate the group, because the wording seemed disconnected and did not sound like a real Muslim speaker.

Unverified claims

The identity of the account holder and any police involvement have not been independently verified, according to Republika. It reported that France's national police, as quoted by Le Monde on 15 October, said they had no details about the case.

Spread online and at protests

The phrase moved to TikTok, Instagram and X, where hundreds of parodies appeared, Republika reported. It then began to appear on posters and banners at student demonstrations. TGRT Haber said a Wikipedia page has been created about the phrase.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those who posted using the slogan, according to TGRT Haber, which said this increased its visibility.

Republika, citing French media, reported that the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) used the phrase in material reminding students of their rights if detained by police, including the right to a lawyer.

Reading of the slogan

Students used the phrase both for humour and to mock suspected surveillance of their movement, according to Republika. It also described the phrase as a jibe at what it called a failed attempt to imitate the speech of young people.

Protesters and commentators interpret the slogan as an ironic response to racist and prejudiced claims that blame immigrants of Algerian and Moroccan origin for street disorder in France, TGRT Haber reported.

Republika said critics pointed to the message's Maghreb-associated name, repeated references to Algeria and its mix of Arabic and French. In their view, these elements portrayed young people from minority groups as linked to rioting and vandalism at demonstrations. Republika said the joke has become a way of turning that stigma around.

Background

The two reports rely partly on other outlets, including Middle East Eye, TV5Monde and Le Monde, and Zenga News has not independently checked the original message. The sources differ slightly on the platform: Republika names Snapchat, while TGRT Haber refers only to a social media platform.