What the phrase means

Bismillah is Arabic for 'in the name of God', and Muslims say it before starting an activity. In French slang the word has lost part of that meaning and now sounds closer to 'let's do it', and some young people use it simply to signal that they are starting something. The second half, 'c'est les ténèbres', translates as 'it's the darkness', a phrase that points to a bleak situation without naming anything concrete. Put together, the slogan reads as 'In the name of God, it's the darkness', which conveys little on its own. That lack of clear meaning is part of why it has travelled, as protesters have written it on placards at demonstrations across the country.

Weekend protests and their roots

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets nationwide over the weekend of 17-18 October, the biggest rally yet since education and cost-of-living protests kicked off in September. The movement brings together students demanding better educational conditions and groups opposed to the high cost of living. Grievances cited include overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and wider systemic inequality. Some demonstrators carried humorous placards alongside the slogan, but by the weekend the protests had escalated into violence in several French cities.

A message students say came from police

The phrase first surfaced in a Snapchat exchange, where a user named Mamadou asked to be added to a group and asked when the blockade would happen. The same message was sent repeatedly from different profiles, and some accounts showed emojis of the Algerian flag. Screenshots began circulating in early October and were shared widely on social media. Students say the messages came from undercover officers trying clumsily to infiltrate the chats used to coordinate protests, and many young people share that suspicion. The claim has not been verified. French authorities have not issued a statement on it. The interior ministry, asked for comment, declined to say whether its officers had used the phrase, but acknowledged that officers sometimes take on virtual identities to contact people suspected of organising illegal activity during protests. Authorities have confirmed they may use online pseudonyms to gather information, but not that this phrase came from them.

Racism, police scrutiny and the government response

For many young protesters the slogan confirms that the authorities misread them and hold racist prejudices. Al Jazeera describes it as a mockery of racial stereotyping by the police. Some teenagers say they were also approached online by profiles with African-sounding names. France's police inspectorate, the IGPN, has opened dozens of investigations into alleged police violence since the protests began. On the government side, Economy Minister Roland Lescure said social media had clearly played a role in the looting that followed the weekend violence. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told parliament he was aware of inflammatory videos circulating on TikTok and Instagram. The government believes rioters use social media to group together.

Spread beyond France

The phrase has become a symbol of the generational divide between young people and the authorities. It has also spread beyond France, with protesters in other EU countries reportedly taking it up as well. Whether the messages were sent by police remains unconfirmed, and no official has said the slogan came from its ranks.