French Anti-Racism Group Tests Beach Discrimination on Côte d’Azur

To carry out the experiment in question, "Sos racisme" uses several couples of different skin colors. A first one, of Maghrebi appearance, and a second, made up of whites only. Each of these two couples must present themselves at the entrance of a beach hut and ask to reserve a mattress, on the edge of the water, on a private beach.

From this hidden camera experiment, the "Sos racisme" Association concludes that it is a case of discrimination when the same response is not given, whether one is white or Maghrebi. Indeed, "we have found that discrimination can be based on clothing, skin color, physical appearance, the person’s origin. It is unfair and intolerable to live in this context," laments Karima Es-Slimani, from "Sos racisme" Nice.

For her part, Paula Cornette, Head of Regional Development at "Sos racisme", notes that "the purpose of this method is to be able to build a legal case. We work with volunteer lawyers who need a lot of details in order to be able to file a complaint against the places. They also use this information to establish annual reports that list discrimination by sector".

At the end of this experiment, the "Sos racisme" Association does not rule out filing a complaint against certain places involved.