A protester holds a placard reading "Bismillah c'est les tenebres" (Bismillah, it's darkness) during a demonstration by French high school and university students in Nantes as part of a nationwide protest movement
France’s high school protests have given rise to a string of slogans, but one cryptic phrase has emerged as an unlikely rallying cry. “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres”, also repeated by climate activist Greta Thunberg, has spread from placards outside blockaded schools to viral videos.The phrase originated in a Snapchat message that students suspect was sent by an undercover police officer.Protesters have turned it into a running joke, using it to mock what they believe was an attempt by police to infiltrate their private protest groups. The slogan has since spread beyond France, appearing at demonstrations in Belgium and Italy.Students say it makes fun of someone attempting, and failing, to sound like a teenager, as per Euro News.
However, it is seen as a shorthand for a generational divide, as per The New York Times.
What does ‘’ mean?
“Bismillah” is Arabic for “in the name of God” and is traditionally said before beginning a task. In everyday French slang, it can also mean something like “let’s go”.“C’est les ténèbres” translates as “it’s the darkness”. Young people use the expression as slang for a situation that is grim or catastrophic.Together, the words roughly mean “In the name of God, it’s the darkness”. Students have turned the phrase into a joke about what they see as an attempt by suspected undercover officers to imitate youth slang while trying to gather information about protestsThe phrase came from a screenshot of a Snapchat conversation that began circulating in early October, when students were using the platform to organise school blockades.
In the message, a user named “Mamadou” asks to join a group, writing: “Hi, in the name of God, it’s the darkness. When’s the blockade, wallah, bro?"However, neither the French police nor the interior ministry has commented on the screenshots, and the identities of the accounts have not been independently verified.Some social media users claimed to have traced the accounts to locations near police stations, but those claims remain unverified.
Why are French students protesting?
The movement began in Créteil, south-east of Paris, on September 18 and quickly spread across France.Students have protested against long school days, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating school buildings and teacher absences. Many argue that these problems disproportionately affect working-class suburbs and minority communities.Around 400 schools were closed by blockades on October 2 alone.The student demonstrations later fed into nationwide cost-of-living protests on October 17, which ended in rioting and looting.