Police Search Colombes City Hall as Prosecutors Probe Suspected Islamist Entrism

Authorities are reviewing municipal subsidies, room rentals, past deliberations following the May closure of an institute run by the mayor’s chief of staff.

Overview

Prosecutors in Nanterre opened an inquiry and assigned the Hauts-de-Seine SDPJ, whose investigators searched Colombes city hall on November 19.
The inquiry centers on suspicions of Islamist infiltration involving Stéphane Tchouhan, the mayor’s director of cabinet, who also directed the Institut Lissen.
Police requested extensive copies of files on subsidies, room bookings and council deliberations dating back to 2020, with no originals seized and no arrests reported.
Searches targeted several departments, including urban planning and human resources, as a separate audit by the Île-de-France regional audit chamber continues.
The prefecture shut the Institut Lissen in May for fire-safety failings and described it as a Quranic school, while Mayor Patrick Chaimovitch has publicly defended his aide and dismissed the allegations as a “non-issue.”