Antisemitism and Islamophobia are rising in France, fueled by the Israel-Hamas war and far-right ideas in public debate, France’s human rights commission, the CNCDH, said in an annual report published on Thursday.
Reports of antisemitic and anti-Muslim acts increased by 284% and 29% respectively, while other types of racist acts increased by 21%, according to the report.
“The Israel-Palestinian conflict regularly triggers (antisemitic) acts, which peak in relation to the operations carried out by the Israeli army in Palestinian territories. But this level is unprecedented,” CNCDH said.
Increase in far-right ideas among public debate
Currently, the far-right National Rally (RN) is leading in the polls for upcoming legislative elections, running on a platform that proposes restricting the rights of immigrants in France, which the CNCDH has said is in “frontal opposition to the principles of equality, fraternity and freedom” enshrined in the French constitution and will embolden racist opinions.
The RN won 88 seats in the 2022 legislative elections, becoming the second-largest party in parliament, and 30 seats in the European parliament in the EU vote earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron’s government has shifted to the right on security, identity and immigration issues.
“The immigration law that was proposed by the government in February 2023 and contained echoes of (the RN’s idea) the ‘national preference’ and the debates surrounding it amplified this xenophobic trend,” the report said.
According to the report, 51% of survey respondents from the general population don’t feel at home in France anymore, compared to 43% of French citizens in 2022, which the report authors link to a rejection of immigration. This sentiment rises to 91% among RN supporters.
Additionally, 69% of survey respondents do not support the RN’s “national preference” idea that French people should be favored for jobs, benefits and housing over foreigners