The French government has increasingly targeted French Muslims in the face of the growing influence of the far-right. Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Front (FN), France’s far-right political party, has repeatedly called for laws to be made that target Muslims.
“The progressive Islamization of our country and the increase in political-religious demands are calling into question the survival of our civilization.”
She went on to assert that Muslims are demanding that Sharia Law be imposed on all French people.
Groups like Le Pen’s have become very popular in France. In fact, the former leader of the party actually beat the Socialist candidate during the French presidential primaries, putting him in a run-off against incumbent Jacques Chirac during the general election. More recently, during the 2011 cantonal elections, FN won 15 percent of the popular vote.
The popularity of far-right groups has forced the moderate conservative party in France, the Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, UMP), to step up its anti-immigrant rhetoric in order to keep its seats in the National Assembly.
This has been evidenced by France’s recent assault against Islamic religious expression. In 2010, France banned citizens from publicly donning any veil that covers the entire face, effectively targeting the wearing of burqas and niqabs, the full-body and full-face coverings some Muslim women wear. Anyone who breaks the law will be fined 150 euros.
The burqa is seen by most as something that degrades women, even when they voluntarily wear it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his 2009 inaugural speech, said, “The problem of the burqa is not a religious problem, it’s a problem of liberty and women’s dignity. It’s not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burqa is not welcome in France.” The French supported the ban by 4 to 1 according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
France didn’t stop with the burqa ban, though. Later in 2010, Le Pen compared Muslims who pray in the streets to Nazi occupiers: “For those who want to talk a lot about World War II, if it’s about occupation, then we could also talk about it [that Muslims pray publicly], because that is occupation of territory.”
When mosques fill up, Muslims must often pray in the streets instead, similar to how Christians sometimes flow outside of churches during Easter services when there isn’t enough space inside.
At the time, Le Pen’s comment drew fire from both the UMP and the Socialists. But, just six months later, and almost exactly a year after the veil ban, France banned Muslims from praying in the streets. According to Interior Minister Claude Gueant, “Street prayers must stop because they hurt the feelings of many of our compatriots who are shocked by the occupation of the public space for a religious practice.”
Interestingly, Gueant argued that the rule should not apply to Catholics.
All of this takes place as France struggles to hold onto its secular identity in the face of a growing French-Muslim population. The maintenance of a “national identity,” however, does not justify restrictions on freedom of expression and unequal treatment under law.
Moreover, the attempt at achieving integration by banning minority practices is self-defeating. Alienating French Muslims guarantees that they will further isolate themselves from the rest of French society, living and interacting exclusively within Muslim communities. Eventually, France will surely encounter more hostility from the Muslim population.
France, then, needs not only to change its laws but also its attitude toward French Muslims. Only then will the French mainstream and the Islamic minority be able to live peacefully together.
