At a roundtable discussion held in Paris in May 2007, French activists and academics examined the dangers of the current `integration' discourse. In the extracts from the discussion published here, it is argued that a chauvinist consensus on national identity exists across the political spectrum in France. Bound up with this consensus is a set of deeply held prejudices against Muslims and `immigrant' communities. These have led to new restrictions on access to citizenship, and even residence rights, which have been implemented in the name of a notion of `integration' that is never precisely defined. Moreover, the institutions which have been established in France to represent Muslims or tackle discrimination have not been given effective powers and are aimed more at preserving the status quo.
The Council of State advises the government on legal matters. It examines bills before they are submitted to the Council of Ministers and gives opinions on their legal consistency and how they might be administered.
2.
In 1989, during the `headscarf affair', the Council of State was asked to give a legal opinion on the compatibility of secularism with the wearing of religious symbols in schools. It stated that `the freedom . . . granted to pupils includes their right to express and manifest their religious beliefs inside the school premises, in respect of pluralism and freedom of others, and without undermining the teaching activities, the contents of the syllabi and the obligation of school attendance'.
3.
The UOIF is one of the largest French Muslim federations, grouping together a few dozen organisations across the country. It is considered close to the Muslim Brotherhood trend.
4.
In 2003, the then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy implemented the formation of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), a body intended to represent Muslims in France. The idea of such an organisation was initiated by the previous socialist government in 1999 but only became a reality under Sarkozy, who made the UOIF one of the principal actors within the CFCM. See Vincent Geisser and Aziz Zemouri, Marianne et Allah (Paris, Editions La Découverte , 2006).
5.
Nicolas Sarkozy proposed the creation of an immigration and national identity ministry during the presidential campaign and the Ministry of Immigration, National Identity, Integration and Co-development was finally set up in May 2007.
6.
Communautairisme is an ambivalent French term, which suggests a kind of community-based identity politics or the withdrawal into ethnic and/or religious enclaves. It is used disparagingly to denounce ethnic minority groups, who are perceived as wanting to keep to their own community and who are thereby regarded as undermining the universalism of the republic.
7.
Philippe de Villiers is president of Movement for France, a far-Right political party. He is also the author of the polemical book The Mosques of Roissy, published in 2006.
8.
In 2003, a teacher at a school in Aubervilliers, Paris, who was also a Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) national representative, led efforts to exclude two sisters for wearing headscarves, thereby instigating a renewed national debate on the issue. More generally, the 2004 law banning the wearing of `ostentatious' religious symbols in state schools has been widely supported by the French Left. Out of 142 socialist deputies present at the parliamentary vote, 140 voted in favour of the law. The far Left had an ambiguous position: a third of the communist MPs voted for the law, while the LCR, who did not have any deputies in parliament, adopted the slogan, `against the headscarf, against the law'.
9.
Jean-Pierre Chevènement is a former high-ranking member of the Socialist Party and interior minister from 1997-2000, who denounced the `little savages' of the banlieues.
10.
Malek Boutih was chair of SOS Racisme from 1999-2003 and, since then, has been the Socialist Party's national secretary on social affairs. On the issue of immigration and integration, he defends positions close to the far Right.
11.
Jack Lang is a high-ranking member of the Socialist Party and formerly served as minister for culture and minister for education.
12.
Beur is a slang term for French-born descendants of North African immigrants. The beurgeoisie is a new term to describe the French middle class of Arab descent.
13.
Michel Rocard is a high-ranking member of the Socialist Party and was prime minister from 1988-1991. The High Council on Integration was created in 1989. Its mission is to `deliver an opinion . . . at the request of the prime minister or the inter-ministerial committee on integration, for all matters related to the integration of foreign residents or those of foreign descent'.
14.
The bachagas were appointed by the French army to act as representatives of the Arabs within the colonial regime.
15.
The High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination and for Equality (HALDE) is an independent administrative body created under French law in December 2004 and based on an EU directive of 2000 under which member states were to create their own anti-discriminatory watchdogs. HALDE's mission is to tackle discrimination prohibited by law, to support the victims with their legal claims and to identify and promote the principle of equality. The Regional Commission for the Integration of Immigrant Populations engaged in public awareness campaigns against discrimination, social exclusion and stereotyping of immigrants.
16.
François Hollande is the leader of the French Socialist Party.
