The Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF) is widely regarded as representing the Muslim Brotherhood in France. Fouad Alaoui and Lahj Breze took over the leadership of the UOIF in 1993 and were known as the “Bordelaise Clan”, a reference to the French town in which they met as students. They were seen as more moderate than their predecessors Abdallah Ben Mansour and Ahmed Jaballah who both have served as officers of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), representing the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Foud Alaoui has also been also a FIOE officer.