Study: 42% of French Muslims Report Experiencing Racism and Discrimination

Unveiled a few days before the major march against Islamophobia and conducted before the Bayonne attack, the IFOP survey reveals the malaise of many Muslims in France.

According to the survey, out of 1,007 people representative of the Muslim population, 28% of Muslims over 15 years of age say they have already been the subject of discrimination during a police check, 22% when looking for housing, 24% when looking for a job.

Furthermore, 1 in 4 Muslims say they have been exposed to verbal aggression or insults (compared to 9% of non-Muslims). On the other hand, 7% say they have suffered physical aggression (3% for the rest of the population).

In addition, 45% of Muslim women have been exposed, compared to 35% of male victims of these acts of discrimination. Those who wear the veil are more affected at a rate of 60%. To this percentage is added 37% of them targeted by defamatory insults.

Another finding from the study is that these discriminations are more noticeable in medium-sized cities and in geographical areas where the proportion of immigrants is quite low (less than 8% of the population).

In total, Muslims are twice as exposed to racist and discriminatory behavior as the rest of the population living in France. "Only" 17% of non-Muslims say they have already experienced it, the same study argues.