It is an ambitious task, nothing less than the creation of an official Islam for France.
Last month, pressed by the law-and-order Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the center-right government reached an important agreement with France's unwieldy and diverse community of five million Muslims that created a national, elected council to represent them.
Today, President Jacques Chirac rewarded those Muslim leaders who chose to join, welcoming nearly a score of council members to Élysée Palace to offer New Year's "best wishes" over fruit juice and water — but no wine.
An exchange of "voeux" or "best wishes" for the New Year is a time-honored ritual, and the month of January is filled with back-to-back receptions hosted by Mr. Chirac and his ministers for groups as diverse as the country's military, journalists and bakers and pastry chefs.
But the event for the Muslim community was more than a party. It was part of a campaign by successive governments since the 1980's to establish a formal channel of communication with a community that includes Muslims of varying degrees of religiosity and political activism from places as far-reaching as Algeria and Cameroon. Only half are French citizens.
Similar bodies exist for Catholics, Jews and Protestants, enabling the government to address issues like education, dress, work and the administration of places of worship.
"In the eight years that I have exchanged greetings with religious authorities, I have regretted that there was no organized dialogue between Muslim representatives and the French authorities," Mr. Chirac told his guests, according to Catherine Colonna, his spokeswoman.
Mr. Chirac also expressed hope that Muslims could achieve "the same status — with equal rights and duties — as all our other citizens."
The effort to organize the country's Muslims took on more urgency in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, when anti-Muslim feelings among French citizens increased. Meanwhile, the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis and what is seen as America's determination to overthrow Saddam Hussein in Iraq but to let Israel do what it will has fueled anti-American sentiments among Muslims and Arabs in France.
Since the new center-right government came into office last spring, dozens of terrorism suspects have been arrested. The government has concluded that the threat from radical Islamic groups is much more deeply rooted than previously suspected.
In a recent interview with Europe 1 radio, Mr. Sarkozy called the creation of the council good news for France. "It's a chance to create an official Islam of France and a way to fight the Islam of cellars and garages — an underground, clandestine Islam that feeds fundamentalism and extremism," he said.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told journalists recently that it would be a forum for the Muslim community to express itself and its religion within France's traditionally secular republican structure. Citizens here are not polled by religion in the census, at school or on the job.
Interior Ministry officials say that, because of terrorism fears, activities in mosques, including Friday sermons, are monitored. But they express concern that the mosques remain places where Muslims may be radicalized and terrorist plots against the state hatched.
Critics of the new council contend that the diverse Muslim groups that have joined can never work together. Some of the most conservative Muslim groups are boycotting, the skeptics note.
The 16-member government-appointed executive includes only one woman, and the groups represented range from Westernized ones like the Grand Mosque of Paris to those with anti-Western views linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Abderrahmane Dahmane, 55, who has lived in France for almost 40 years and is president of a strict Islamic group called Coordination of Muslims, said in an interview: "They are trying to set up a council under the tutelage of the state like in colonial times. Sarkozy wants to be archbishop of France, rabbi of France and now he wants to be the grand mufti of France too."
Despite the inherent problems, several of the Muslim leaders on the council said they were pleased with its creation. "The entire nation and the entire Muslim world is watching us," said Kamel Kabtane, the imam of the Lyon mosque, as he left Élysée Palace tonight. "We have to put aside our individual egos. There may be some problems later on but right now we are building the foundations."