PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 28, 2025: A meeting was held in Paris on Wednesday, May 28, to address the growing wave of Islamophobia across France. Organized by the Collective Against Islamophobia, the gathering brought together figures such as Mohamed Chaia, head of the Salaam Sciences Po Association, Timothee Gauthierot, a basketball coach and co-founder of 'Basketball for All', and Imam Noureddine Aoussat. Speakers pointed to growing anti-Muslim sentiment across sectors such as sports, education and healthcare, urging increased solidarity and concrete measures to address discrimination against Muslim communities in France. Timothee Gauthierot, who has previously slammed France's hijab ban on female players, said: "Often, sport was kind of a safe space, but today even that space is no longer peaceful. So this is really one more form of violence added to all the others." Recalling that the French Senate had passed a bill banning clothing with religious or political connotations, he noted: "This ban has brought yet another form of violence to these players, who came to basketball sometimes to find a sense of freedom. It’s like a breath of fresh air for them after a day of work, where they already face violence — at work, in the street." Many activists also opposed the decisions by the French football and basketball federations to exclude players wearing the hijab from competitions, including at amateur level. Mohamed Chaia from the Salaam Sciences Po Association told that they were heavily attacked on social media after a post on X about a school dinner attended by Muslim and Christian students during Ramadan this year. "This event was meant to create a moment of sharing, cultural exchange, and living together," he told, "but it wasn’t perceived that way by certain groups." France has recently seen protests against Islamophobia sparked by the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse at Hatice Mosque in the town of La Grand-Combe, Gard region on April 25. The attacker, identified as Olivier H., a French citizen of Bosnian origin, stabbed Cisse dozens of times, and filmed the assault on a phone while shouting insults against Islam. His death triggered widespread outrage among the Muslim community in the country. To voice opposition against the increasing Islamophobia in French media and politics, demonstrations took place in major cities, including the capital Paris, Marseille, and Lyon. Reporting by Esra Taskin // Writing by Mustafa Tuncer