France - Executive Summary (cont.)

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Initial post-war Muslim immigration occurred at a time of housing shortages in France. As a consequence, it was difficult for immigrants to find housing. They were forced to live in woefully inadequate housing in the big cities, and in some cases even in ‘shanty towns’. In the 1950s, the Government started to build specific housing residences for immigrant workers, while removing the ‘shanty towns’ and unsanitary housing. This resulted in a major improvement in the situation of Muslim immigrants. In the 1970s, they progressively gained access to social housing (HLMs). However, this came at a time when significant improvements in the living standards of working-class people of French origin, were enabling them to buy their own properties. This meant that, from the 1970s onwards, the HLMs came to be increasingly occupied by immigrants. Even today, the majority of immigrants rent social housing.

There is a strong geographical concentration of Muslims in socially disadvantaged parts of cities. However, for a long time the State referred to the housing problems of immigrants in terms of ‘social exclusion’, but refused to admit the existence of racial discrimination in this area. However, this position now seems to be changing. This is mainly thanks to recent reports and surveys providing evidence of discriminatory practices, including discrimination in access to housing, including discrimination on the part of the public bodies managing the HLMs. Access to private accommodation can be even more problematic for the foreign population and their children.

Young immigrants, or children of immigrants, are particularly exposed to discrimination when they look for accommodation. Council housing bodies see them as a risk to others. They therefore, systematically offer them accommodation in poor districts, or only in the districts where they were born and grew up. Families from Sub-Saharan Africa also face barriers in accessing social housing; as a consequence they often live in unsanitary homes in the private sector or in squats. In 2000, Government policies were introduced to reinforce social diversity in housing and a law was passed to make public housing institutions and municipal bodies ensure social heterogeneity in the HLMs. Although the aim of this law was to prevent the creation of poor and rich HLM, in practice, it has instead been used to control the ethnic composition of council houses.

The restructuring and lay-offs that the industrial sector underwent during the 1970s and 1980s has a disproportionate impact on French Muslims. Many currently find themselves unemployed, in early retirement or unable to work (because of illness or a permanent disability). French Muslims suffer disproportionately from unemployment, and also encounter more difficulties finding full-time long-term employment. They still occupy the least qualified professional positions and are underrepresented in executive positions. They are twice as likely to work in a factory, as compared to the general population, and are overrepresented in the construction and automobile sectors. This concentration of Muslim immigrants in the industrial sectors also impacts on their ability to build a strong social and professional network that would enable them to help their children find employment.

For French Muslims, citizenship is less of a barrier to employment than in other European countries, as many are in fact French citizens. Rather, the problem lies in the fact that even second generation French Muslims, who have lived in France all their lives, continue to be considered as migrant workers. In interviews and surveys, many young people of North African origin say they had been victims of racial discrimination. French legislation protecting employees against discrimination from employers has been strengthened over the last decades. The Law on Equal Opportunities, adopted in March 2006, details several new measures concerning employment and education. The French State has also developed several actions and programmes to combat discrimination in the labour market.

Discriminatory practices in the workplace persist, however. Interviews with people in charge of recruitment have revealed, for example, that, despite the legislation in place, subjective elements may be used to evaluate job applications from those with foreign origin; these are often particularly unfavourable to applicants of North African origin. This could include subjective evaluations of the applicant’s level of integration, or his or her capacity to fit into the company in spite of any cultural differences. In 2004, evidence from ‘situation testing’ revealed the existence of discriminatory practices in the recruitment process. By sending a CV to different companies, researchers found that a CV from someone with a foreign origin was more likely to be rejected than a similarly qualified individual with no obvious foreign origin. The proportion of female immigrants in the workplace has increased. However, they are concentrated in precarious and part-time positions. In addition, Muslim women wearing the Islamic headscarf (hijab) encounter problems from employers.

It is difficult to analyse the educational attainment of the Muslim population due to the absence of official statistical data disaggregated according to faith. In fact, Ministry of Education statistics do not even reveal the number of pupils with a ‘foreign origin’. Available research reveals, however, that children with foreign origins under-perform in education. The educational achievement level of the first generation of immigrants varies according to their country of origin, with those from Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia much more likely to have no diploma or only a primary level of education. By contrast, first generation immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by a higher level of educational achievement; in many cases, they came to France to finish their university studies.

Studies on the educational achievement level of Muslims, specifically, have found that the proportion with a General Certificate of Education (baccalauréat general) is equivalent to that of the general population. However, compared to the general population, this group contains a higher proportion of people with a low level of education (primary level only), while people who have graduated with a university degree are less numerous. It seems, therefore, that Muslim students have difficulties in attaining a more advanced level or a diploma. Many select a university programme because they did not succeed in obtaining a place at a school preparing technical diplomas. They also choose fields of training that currently have significant rates of unemployment, such as the social and economic fields.

The ability of children with foreign origins to successfully integrate into the French school system is strongly linked to their migration experience. Factors such as spending several years abroad before experiencing the French schooling system, being born abroad, or the time spent by the parents in France are all important. The socio-economic background of children with foreign origins needs also to be taken into account. Pupils of foreign origin are mainly found in schools in working-class suburbs, where it is not unusual to find schools in which they comprise the majority of pupils. The French educational system distributes pupils according to their place of residence. However, parents from the middle or upper classes generally refuse to send their children to the assigned school if there is a strong concentration of foreigners and children of immigrants in that school. Many instead choose private institutions or try to obtain a place in another school.

In 2004, a new law was introduced that prohibits the wearing of religious symbols, including the hijab, in public schools. Subsequently, the majority of Muslim girls have complied with the law and have stooped the wearing of the hijab while in school. Some have chosen to join a private school or to be schooled at home, so that they can continue to wear the hijab. The French social welfare system provides, under certain conditions, for the care and assistance of any sick person, whether a foreigner or an immigrant, even if that person remains illegally in the country. Those without health cover can still seek medical advice in free health centres. Nonetheless, there is evidence that immigrants and foreigners use the health system less than the rest of the French population. In general, little attention has been paid to the health condition of foreigners, immigrants or their children in France. There is no statistical data on the health of the Muslim population, specifically. This, despite the fact that this population faces great social and economic difficulties, including a poor integration into the labour market and an over-concentration in deprived districts — all elements that could impact on their physical and psychological state of health.

For Muslim immigrants, the question of addressing the needs of an aging population is now becoming an important issue. Many from the first wave of immigration have decided to live out their retirement in France, but in most cases do not have significant resources or savings. Their occupations, which often involved exhausting and tiring manual jobs, have contributed to the rapid deterioration in their health. In addition, the social crises meant that many were laid off by the age of 50, with little chance of subsequently finding work. Their precarious work status often meant that their employers did not register them with the French employment authorities, so gathering a record of all their past jobs also poses a great difficulty.

The relationship between the police and the French Muslim population is sometimes tense. This is aggravated by the fact that the Muslim population is concentrated in deprived districts in the city suburbs, where crime is more prevalent. In addition, the Muslim population has come under particular police scrutiny since 2001.

There are complaints from Muslims about discriminatory practices and the conduct of certain police officers. These mainly focus on alleged acts of provocation committed by the police, verbal and physical violence, as well as insults and humiliation. They typically concern young Muslim men, who complain in particular of harassment during identity checks. Over the last decade, there have been moves to hold the police more to account and to prevent discrimination. However, the lack of diversity in the police force makes it more difficult to address claims of racial discrimination. One barrier to the recruitment of more young people of foreign origin has found to be their lack of sufficient proficiency in the French language to succeed in competitions for recruitment.

Since the arrival of the first Muslim immigrants, the situation of Islam in France has evolved considerably and the religion has become more visible within the public space. The constant growth in the number of followers of Islam is a strong indicator that religion remains important beyond the first generation of immigrants. From the 1980s, numerous religious organisations have been established, at the national and local levels, to represent the interests of French Muslims. These predominantly represent Muslims with North African origins and few Muslim organisations have been able to transcend national and ethnic divides. Only some associations of young Muslims have succeeded in bringing together people with diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The existence of various Muslim organisations in France compelled the political authorities to consider Islam as an element of the political debate. However, the ethnic and religious diversity of the Muslim population has made collaboration difficult. The French Muslim population has consistently lacked a central body able to represent their interests at the national level. A new representative organisation has recently been established — the French Muslim Council (CFCM), which has both regional councils and a national council. However, it is too early to assess how effective this new structure will be in representing the interests of Muslims.

Muslim participation in the political arena is more complicated to analyse in France, than in other European countries. The French universalistic model is often represented as the antithesis to the Anglo-Saxon models. Individuals are expected to keep their cultural or religious participations to themselves, and claims for multiculturalism are always excluded from the public arena. Political initiatives in favour of the integration process have concerned the immigrant population as a whole, rather than French Muslims specifically. The designation of the first préfet of North African origin, in January 2004, reignited debate about the role of religious identity in the political arena.

The image of Muslims, and public perceptions of and opinions regarding Muslims, has changed considerably over the last ten years. In the 1980s, an “anti-immigrant” atmosphere was reinforced as the economic and social situation in France deteriorated. Public debate questioned the right of Muslims and their children to stay in France, and young North Africans became the scapegoats of society’s frustrations and fears, and of xenophobic attitudes in France. In the 1990s, however, public opinion and the media focused instead on the loyalty of the Muslim population towards France, and to its republican and secularist principles. The terrorist attacks in France in 1995, and later the attacks of 11 September in the USA, impacted sharply on French public opinion, which consistently links Islam with negative images.

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