Muslims in France

Every time I've seen this question asked, on this and other forums, the overwhelming response has been "not an issue". There is, of course, a significant Muslim population in France, and it is common to see the hijab worn. I would be very surprised if you experienced any negative treatment from this.

Islamic costumes that cover the full face are officially banned in France, but I gather enforcement depends on the local level of political enthusiasm for it. Lots of women wearing hijab in Paris. Big cities should be fine, but you can always run into the odd hateful bastard. Smaller towns might be a little more edgy.

France is a large country with a diverse population and some wear headscarves. In fact, more women wear them now than in previous years due to militants in their communities. Yes, you can wear headscarves in public places. As for display of religious symbols: you can't WORK in any government office and wear a religious symbol.

The issue of the niqabs, clothing never worn by French Muslims before militants started pushing it, was brought to the fore when militants wanted their wives' driver license photos with the face covered.

How you will be embraced by all 70 million French people is not known. You could run into a jerk, but then so could I. There certainly are a lot of tourists from all over the Middle East and the rest of the Muslim world visiting France and enjoying it.

"MrsEB: the OP's question was about wearing the hijab not the niqab so I am at a loss as to your reply." The question in the second paragraph relates to niqabs. As to the question in the first paragraph: I have seen many women in France wearing hijabs -- was just there, in fact -- and have never seen anyone acting in any harassing or scornful way towards that.

Just follow the law imposed by the French Government as we would have to do in your country.
Mike

Hello, there is some more information on this in a thread from a few months ago.

Here is the link:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/muslim-traveling-to-paris

My guess is you will be fine. After all, it's pretty normal here -- although not as widespread as being, say, in London, where you also see many more women wearing more all-encompassing coverings than you do here.

Unfortunately (and I say this as someone who hails from a rural community myself), I would consider it more likely that you would experience scorn in a rural area, but I certainly HOPE this is not the case.

It occurs to me that since the poster in the other thread was asking on the behalf of friends of hers, you could send her a private message via this site to ask whether her friends have traveled yet and what they experienced. As you said, the most helpful information for you would be personal experience, and she may be able to connect you with someone who has that personal experience. I don't know if that original poster is someone who checks the Forum regularly, but I think a private message to her gets alerted to her regular email. You might not get a response, but it's certainly worth a shot!

I hope you will have a wonderful trip and not face ANY discrimination.

MrsEB, I think drawing the parallel with the Jewish situation in France has some legitimate relevance. It indicates that there is some degree of intolerance for minority religious groups in France. The numbers are substantially higher in Europe than in the US.

The attacks on Jews in France has become so prevalent that they are leaving France in record numbers. But France isn't unique, its happening across Europe. We aren't even immune to it. Anti Semitic incidents in the US was up over 20% in 2015 and up 30% in Canada for the same time period.

The Muslim migration might be part of the impetus of the rise in intolerance abroad and here. We know that a fringe element has been energized and enlarged in response to the migration and we also know how they feel about the Jews as well as the Muslims.

Edit: I removed the post as the historical and sociological information doesn't answer the OP.

James E is right about the rise in anti- Semitic incidents in Canada, that is 30 per cent more in 2015 than the previous year. But lest anyone think Canada is a dangerous place for Jews, here are the statistics for 2015 for the entire country, as reported in the Jerusalem Post.

Total no. of incidents 1627

Harassment 1370
Vandalism. 230
Violence. 19

1627 too many, it goes without saying, but it gives a little perspective .

Okay, what’s this got to do with the question at hand? I think it speaks to cultural tolerance which really is the basis of the question. But to be fair, the Jewish question really is an extreme. Hatred of Jews sort of supersedes all other norms in a lot of instances. So while a society may be very tolerant of every other aspect of cultural differences, it is still possible for them to have an extreme hatred of Jews. So maybe it isn’t a good universal judge; but it is a place to start.

But as pointed out context is important, so here are some numbers. My wild guess is that since Jews look like any other person that it is primarily those who display an outward appearance of their religion that get most of the victimization. A wild guess might be that if you wear a Yarmulke or fedora that your odds of victimization are substantially higher, if not ten times higher:

Of the 385,000 to 500,000 Jews in Canada there were 1,627 reports so 1 in 300 Jews is victimized each year.

Of the 475,000 to 600,000 Jews in France there were 850 reports or 1 in 700 Jews is victimized each year.
Of the 5 to 10 million Jews in the U.S. there were 912 reports or 1 in 11,000 Jews is victimized each year.

Pertaining only to the situation in France as regards to muslims of the first , second and third generations, Bet's observation are correct. One needs to look at French TV...TV5 Monde, all sorts of programs/reportages on that topic, positive and grim. For the background I would suggest the book, "The Wars of French Decolonisation."

Fred, this is where dialogue and education become so important. Until people come together and look past their own personal prejudices long enough to talk and understand none of it will get better and good people on all sides of the argument will be insulted and minimized. That's never a solution. This is one thing I think RS promotes. If you have never been immersed in a particular culture; even if for only a few days, you can have a pretty slanted perception of reality. It's easy to detest this group or that group if you have never had one be kind or helpful. I guess, among those that do have the opportunity the weakness can often be that they see the surface and don't understand the driving forces beneath the surface and that can result in another type of distortion. Mostly what you will miss is good, but occasionally disturbing too. For instance with a little understanding and insight you quickly realize that French waiters aren't rude; they are just "French" and its a good thing once you have just a tiny bit of understanding. But how do you get there till you talk? And yes Fred, I know; in a moment I will be slammed for the French comment. To which I say, read sentence one and two.

I had a post immediately after this one. Philip contacted me personally and I decided it was a good gesture to pull the post. Norma, I am sorry but it leaves you hanging out of context. Two things, I harbor no hate for any group. And I believe that every individual is responsible for their own actions regardless of any other circumstance.

James E, the last sentence of your post does not make sense. It seems to be stating the opposite of the rest of your paragraph. Can you clarify please?

Let's keep this one on topic for the OP, please.

Keith, we have been asked to cool it down. But I do want to answer you so I will send a PM.

Nora, if you write me a PM I will respond.

I was not confused at all by your reply. You are confusing me with a person whose post has been deleted who questioned your response. I was pointing out to that person that you were answering a question that the OP had asked. The person's post is now gone.

I am "the person".

MrsEB, You and I are very much in agreement. While we have become a little more civilized in expression, the percentage of people herbouring the hate has remained pretty static and there isn't much desire among the nations of the world to make a significant change.