‘Masculinism’—a New Threat to Security?
22nd January 2026
On Wednesday, January 21st, the French High Council for Equality published a new report on sexism, identifying “masculinism” as one of the new dangers to national security.
Masculinism constitutes a “real threat” and must be recognised as a public security issue, according to the report. This hateful and anti-feminist ideology, spread on social media, is likely to generate violence and radicalisation and, according to the document’s recommendations, should be the subject of a national strategy to combat it.
The High Council for Equality, which reports to the prime minister’s office, even refers to “misogynistic terrorism” and calls for intelligence services to be trained to deal with this new danger. According to the report, 17% of French people subscribe to “hostile sexism,” which “devalues women” and could lead to violence against them.
The report expresses alarm at France’s delay in addressing this public danger, compared to other countries that are much more ‘advanced’ in this area, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Unsurprisingly, once it has identified the masculinist enemy, the High Council for Equality is careful not to define the terms precisely. It notes a radicalisation against women that could lead to violence or terrorist acts but never questions the possible origins of such a social drift. Immigration of Muslim origin and the importation into France of predominantly male immigrants from cultures that traditionally place women in a position of inferiority or even encourage the habitual use of violence against them is obviously not called into question here.