Racism and intolerance towards minorities have risen for the second consecutive year in France, according to a report published Thursday by the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH).
The 34th annual report on racism, anti-semitism and xenophobia found that the tolerance index declined by three points between November 2022 and November 2023, standing now at 62 out of 100 points. While 62 points is relatively high compared to the last three decades, which recorded index levels of around 50 points in the 1990s, co-author Vincent Tiberj noted that the decline in tolerance for the second consecutive year is nonetheless significant.
Incidents of racism and anti-Semitism have also risen sharply by 34 percent, with incidents of Islamophobia rising by 57 percent and incidents of anti-Semitism rising by an unprecedented 284 percent. Such incidents include the gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in Northwestern Paris on June 15, where the three teenage boys charged in relation to the incident reportedly uttered anti-Semitic insults and death threats while filming the attack. Last week, French prosecutors also charged two teenagers with ‘terrorist conspiracy’ after they were found to be planning a terrorist attack on Jewish targets, and a man attempted to set fire to a synagogue in May.
The report correlated this rise in intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, amongst other things, to the Gaza War and the polarization of debates relating to immigration after the passing of the controversial asylum and immigration bill. The report found that 51 percent of French people don’t feel at home in France anymore, compared to 43 percent in 2022, which the report linked to a rise in rejection of immigration. Likewise, 43 percent of French residents also considered insecurity to be linked to immigration, a figure impacted by socio-economic factors like deteriorating public services in France.
The report’s top recommendation was for the government to make fighting impunity a top priority after it recorded a 17 percent decline in the number of cases related to racist acts being referred to the prosecutor’s office and a 16 percent decline in the number of people indicted for racist offenses, despite the increase in incidents of racism. According to CNCDH President Jean-Marie Burguburu, the government has shown a lack of concern and has been slow to implement the CNCDH’s recommendations.
Notably, for the first time in 34 years, the French government did not comply with the requirements of the 1990 law that provides for the official submission of the report to the prime minister, an act that the CNCDH considers representative of the government’s disengagement.
The report came just days before voting for the first round of France’s parliamentary elections, which is set to take place on Sunday. Polls suggest that the far-right party National Rally will secure the majority of votes. The party’s supporters come from various socio-economic backgrounds, with immigration being a consistent concern amongst the members.
