Racism hits new high in France: report

Racism hits new high in France: report

Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:42AM

Migrants in France face racism more than ever before, with over 50 percent of the French saying there are too many migrants in the country, according to a recent human rights report.

The report by France's National Commission of Human Rights says 36 percent of all acts of racism are directed toward North Africans, the Press TV correspondent in Paris reported on Friday.

The report also accuses politicians of increasingly 'playing the Islamophobia card' to win votes.

On Monday, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant referred to the number of Muslims in the country as 'a problem' during a debate on the role of Islam in the French society.

The commission's report points out that the recent series of national debates on the burqa, religion, and secularism have alienated Muslims in particular.

Paris has declared that any woman -- French or foreigner -- who wears a niqab or burqa in public will be fined 150 euros. And those who force women to wear such covers will face a much larger fine and a prison sentence of up to two years.

“Muslims will stop seeking and reaching out to the wider community and that is already happening. Muslim members of the ruling party are leaving the party. President Nicolas Sarkozy's special advisor on Islam tore his party ID card into pieces in front of cameras,” Ousmane Ndiaye, the editor of Respect magazine, told Press TV.

Last week, the French police arrested 61 people who participated in protests against the ban on the face veil in Paris.

The population of France is approximately 65 million and the country is home to over five million Muslims.

MN/JM/HGL