The author Michel Houellebecq is being investigated for crimes after statements about Muslims

On Tuesday, a judge in the Paris region ruled that author Michel Houellebecq should be investigated for criminal charges of inciting discrimination, hatred or violence against an ethnic or religious group. This is reported by Le Monde, among others.

The background is several statements about Muslims that Michel Houellebecq made in 2022 in an interview with the philosopher Michel Onfray. The interview was published in the French newspaper Front Populaire, founded by the same Michel Onfray.

In the interview, Michel Houellebecq said that if entire areas fall under "Islamist control" there will be resistance, such as shootings and other attacks directed at Muslims. He also expressed that Muslims steal, commit violence and attack "the French indigenous population". In the same interview, the author said that the far-right conspiracy theory about the "people exchange" is not a theory, but a fact.

Later, Michel Houllebecq has said that the statements were clumsy. His lawyers write to the French media that he denies the accusations that the statements would form the basis for crimes of incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against an ethnic or religious group.

The crime can result in imprisonment for up to one year. Michel Houellebecq has so far been served with formal criminal suspicion, not prosecuted - and the investigation may take time, writes The New York Times.