Muslim Prayer at Paris Airport Sparks Controversy and Political Backlash

The image of the scene, captured by Noëlle Lenoir, former Minister of European Affairs (2002-2004), and published on social networks, provoked reactions from elected officials. The Renaissance deputy from Paris, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, condemned "these practices, whatever they may be" which are "simply unacceptable", recalling that there are "places of worship specially dedicated at the airport". The thirty Muslims who were praying in the boarding lounge of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport would be a group of foreign pilgrims leaving for Jordan.

Faced with the controversy, the CEO of ADP (formerly Aéroports de Paris), Augustin de Romanet, had to react. "This is a first, regrettable, incident," he deplored. [...] The Border Police has been instructed to prohibit this and will redouble its vigilance." He also recalled that "dedicated places of worship exist" in both the Roissy and Orly airports. In June, the team of chaplains at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport had inaugurated a new prayer room in the international zone of terminal 1.

Augustin de Romanet also responded to Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet. It was "not necessary to highlight this unique episode at the moment," he retorted to the elected official. Welcoming this reaction from the CEO of ADP, the mayor of Alfortville (Val-de-Marne) Luc Carvounas, indicated that a "deputy of the Nation must not participate through clumsy expressions in what could be likened to Islamophobia".