Is France more racist?

France, she is increasingly racist and xenophobic? This is what suggested by the Council of Europe, which warns the public and the authorities in a report.

"Despite legislative progress and measures to fight against intolerance and racism, hate speech and hate and discriminatory acts not only persist but are on the rise in France. It is urgent to better address a sustained and systematic way, "said Nils Muiznieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights, following his visit to the French 22 to 26 September 2014.

In his report, the Commissioner addresses issues of human rights of migrants, Travellers, Roma and disabled people.

"In recent years, anti-Semitic acts, anti-Muslim and homophobic have risen sharply. During the first half alone of 2014, anti-Semitic acts have almost doubled, while the number of Jews who left France for Israel tripled compared to 2012, which is a telltale sign of their sense insecurity. The growing number of anti-Muslim acts, of which nearly 80% are committed against women and homophobic acts, which occur at a rate of one every two days, is also very worrying. It is imperative to stop these phenomena and to punish those responsible, including on the Internet. »

The Commissioner urges the authorities to continue to fight strongly against these phenomena.

"To this end, it would be useful to give full effect to the criminal provisions acknowledging the" testing "as evidence of discriminatory behavior and to integrate the fight against discrimination in a national plan for the promotion and protection of human rights the man. "

Furthermore, the Commissioner calls on the French authorities to maintain their commitment to accommodate 500 Syrian refugees, and urges them to accept more.

François Hollande wanted to show reassuring, at least to the main principles, first using a word coined from scratch. In the suburbs, no one should feel "segregated" he said, referring to the problems of segregation.

While Prime Minister Manuel Valls had stirred controversy by using the term "apartheid" to denounce the partitioning of the poor neighborhoods, the head of state said at its 5th biannual press conference: "I do not recognize me communities. I say that all citizens of the Republic the same rights and the same duties (...). The Republic recognizes all her children, wherever they are born and where they live, "he insisted.

Manuel Valls, he recognizes one thing: "citizenship - do not talk about integration, forget the words that do not want to say anything - we feel it, needs to be overhauled."

The Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, spoke about a possible class action project applying to the fight against discrimination on the model of the group action now on to consumers.

This proposal seeks to address, "the proliferation of speech and racist and antisemitic acts or tending to cause hateful, violent, discriminatory," says the chancellery in a statement. Clearly, the internet and social networks are particularly targeted.

The idea of ​​such a class action was launched, originally, there was a number of years by the Representative Council of Black Associations (Cran).

A single, digital platform could emerge next spring, at the initiative of the Human Rights Defender, Jacques Toubon, which recognizes that rejection of movements and hatred of others have been "long neglected." "We have the ability to stop this juggernaut." He promises.

The institution has helped last year nearly 85,000 plaintiffs, a sign of the work that remains.

As for the president of the UMP, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, he said today on Europe 1 radio that he would "not veiled women" in the name of "equality" between men and women. "" We do not want veiled women, not for religious reasons, not for reasons of interpretation of Islam "but" simply "because" in the Republic, the woman and man are tied, "he has said Nicolas Sarkozy, without specifying what type of sailing he spoke, full or not.

In his political family, Bruno Le Maire, UMP deputy from Eure, expressed his "deep disgust" before "chronic anti-Semitism" exists "now" in France. "I express deep disgust and a certain weariness with this chronic Semitism, as there are in France now a chronic anti-Semitism," alluding to the desecration of a Jewish cemetery Sunday in the Lower Rhine. He said he had, he said, "be prepared that these acts are renewed in Europe and perhaps in France, since there are now hundreds of fighters who are in Syria, Iraq and who could return. "