Abstract

France, Racism And the Left

The article presents information related to racism in France. Racism and xenophobia have raised their ugly heads again in France. Jean Marie Le Pen, leader of the ultrarightist, National Front, charged that the "invasion" of immigrants has passed the "threshold of tolerance." In reality, the proportion of foreigners on French soil is about the same as it was in 1931, when they made up 6.6 percent of the population. Between 1962 and 1982 the proportion of foreigners in the population rose from 4.7 percent to 6.8 percent. The largest gain, however, was registered by North Africans, who went from 0.9 percent to 2.6 percent. The problem should not be exaggerated, however. Although not a melting pot like the U.S., France contains a rich mixture of ethnic groups, by European standards.