Hate Crimes Rise 5% in France, Interior Ministry Reports

The latest data from the French Ministry of the Interior indicate that "12,600 offenses were recorded due to ethnicity, nationality, a supposed race or religion across the French territory, 6,600 crimes or offenses and 6,000 contraventions" during the year 2022. In detail, more than 3,000 people were arrested by the security services for "racist" crimes or offenses, including "insults, provocations or defamations", according to the Interior’s statistical service.

Thus, crimes or offenses increased by 5% compared to 2021 while contraventions fell "by 12%". Most of the victims are foreigners from an African country, aged 25 to 54. The perpetrators, for their part, do not have a typical profile, notes the document, which notes a strong geographical disparity of these offenses during the 2020-2022 period, where the rate of racist crimes or offenses per inhabitant was "higher in Paris, and to a lesser extent in Seine-Saint-Denis and in the Bas-Rhin, and conversely lower in the Gers, in Vendée and in Mayotte".

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