Overview
- A 2024 Accès aux droits survey of more than 5,000 people finds 7% experienced religion-based discrimination in the past five years, up from 5% in 2016.
- Reported discrimination reaches 34% for Muslims or those perceived as such, with 38% among headscarf-wearing women, compared with 4% for Christians.
- Visibility matters, as 15% of people wearing religious signs report discrimination versus 6% of those who do not.
- Official reporting shows rising cases, with calls to the 3928 discrimination helpline multiplying tenfold since 2017 to nearly 200 in 2024.
- The watchdog links the trend to misreadings of laïcité—24% believe it bans religious signs in public—details overlap with perceived origin, and urges institutional training and school-based instruction.