Against a backdrop marked by the rise of the racial question in public debate – illustrated on April 4, 2026 by the holding of a march against racism and discrimination in reaction to the racist attacks targeting a mayor of Seine-Saint-Denis -Ifop and LICRA have published the results of an inventory of racism in France. As studies that measure the diversity of racism experienced by the French population as a whole are rare, this survey provides the first exhaustive mapping of French people’s exposure to racist behavior according to their ethnic and religious background. The strength of Ifop’s approach lies not only in the size of the sample (14,025 people), which is unrivalled in the field of research on these issues, but also in the use of analytical variables that provide unprecedented documentation of the experience of racism among previously little-studied groups. What this survey shows is the massive and indisputable nature of racism in France. It is expressed in many areas of social life, and affects the entire population, including groups that are less spontaneously associated with this experience. While France cannot be described as a systemically racist society, it is nevertheless clear that racism is far from being a marginal or residual phenomenon: it is a massive reality that disproportionately affects ethnic and religious minorities, leaving lasting consequences on their life trajectories and mental health.
A) NEARLY ONE FRENCH PERSON IN TWO HAS EXPERIENCED AT LEAST ONE FORM OF RACIST VIOLENCE OR DISCRIMINATION IN HIS OR HER LIFETIME
1 – 46% of French people have already been victims of racist aggression or discrimination in the course of their lives, i.e. almost one citizen in two. This overall figure covers three distinct profiles: 14% have been victims of aggression only, 8% of discrimination only, and 24% have suffered both forms of discrimination – meaning that one victim in two has been exposed simultaneously to violence and unfair treatment in accessing rights or services.
And these phenomena are recent: 24% of French people have experienced racist behavior in the last five years, and 15% have suffered at least one form of racial discrimination in the last 12 months alone – figures which confirm that racism is indeed a contemporary reality…
2 – The forms of expression of racist aggression are dominated by verbal attacks, but the most serious forms also affect several million French people:mockery or offensive remarks (25%), insults (24%), threats (14%), theft or damage (11%), physical violence (9%). As far as discrimination is concerned, dress and appearance (14%) is the main reason given, ahead of ethnic or cultural origins (12%), region or country of origin (12%), surname or first name (11%) and skin color (10%) – all identity markers that act as triggers for unequal treatment.
B) VERY UNEQUAL EXPERIENCES DEPENDING ON PERCEIVED ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
3 – Exposure to racist violence and discrimination is massively concentrated among visible minorities, with a gradient of intensity ranging from 39% for people perceived as “white” to 80% for those perceived as “black” – a difference of 41 points. People perceived as “Arab” (70%) and “mixed race” (60%) fall within this range, confirming that pigmentation and phenotypic markers remain the main determinants of exposure to racism in France.
The proportion of people perceived as “black” who have experienced a racist attack in their lives (49%) is two and a half times higher than that of people perceived as “white” (19%). This overexposure of visible minorities is particularly acute for physical violence and threats, where people perceived as “black” or “Arab” are exposed to rates two to three times higher than those of the white population.
4 – Religious affiliation is a second major factor in overexposure: Muslims (79%) and Jews (69%) have the highest rates, ahead of Buddhists (64%) and Protestants (57%), while Catholics (43%) are below the national average. This table reveals that religious discrimination adds to ethno-racial discrimination to form cumulative experiences that are particularly penalizing for a significant fraction of the French population.
The degree of religious visibility is an aggravating factor. For example, while 24% of Muslims say they have been discriminated against because of their dress, this is the case for 41% of those wearing religious clothing. This discrimination based on visible markers of religiosity is particularly evident in the daily lives of Muslims wearing religious clothing. For example, twice as many say they suffer discrimination on public transport (37% vs. 18%).
C) SCHOOL AND WORK: THE TWO PILLARS OF REPUBLICAN MERITOCRACY UNDER ATTACK
5 – The school environment is one of the first places where people are exposed to racism:11% of French people have already been discriminated against in a school – a proportion that rises to 35% among people perceived as “Arabs” and 34% among those perceived as “East Asians”. Even more worrying: 18% of victims of discrimination at school have already changed schools because of these risks, including 31% of Jews – a forced mobility that reveals a structuring effect of racism on educational trajectories and chances of social success.
The precocity of this exposure deserves to be emphasized: among 15-17 year-olds, 27% have already been victims of racial discrimination at school. This accentuation among young people is even more marked among those from minority groups: 46% among those perceived as “East Asian” and 41% among Muslims.
6 – The world of work is the second major arena for racial discrimination:10% of French people say they have been subjected to such treatment at work, a proportion that rises to 30% among people perceived as “black” and 28% among those perceived as “Arab”. The consequences on career paths are measurable: 26% of victims have already changed employer because of these risks, including 36% of Muslims – reflecting a direct economic and social cost of racism on the professional trajectories of minorities.
Discrimination in the workplace is even higher among working people: 35% among people perceived as “black” and 33% among Muslims.
D) INSTITUTIONS, ESPECIALLY THE POLICE, ARE GENERATING GROWING DISTRUST AMONG VICTIMS OF RACISM
7 – 19% of French people who have interacted with the police in the last 12 months feel they have been treated unfairly by the police – this rate reaching 37% among Muslims and 34% among people perceived as “black” or “Arab”. This feeling of injustice generates a phenomenon of institutional avoidance: 23% of these people have already given up going to a police station when they needed to, revealing a process of withdrawal from public institutions fuelled directly by the experience of racism.
8 – 21% of victims of aggression or racial discrimination have felt a strong sense of mistrust towards public institutions because of the racism they have experienced – a proportion that rises to 41% among Jews and 37% among Muslims. This phenomenon of institutional delegitimization follows a marked generational gradient (25% among the under-35s, versus 16% among those aged 65 and over), signalling an erosion of republican confidence that is particularly pronounced among the younger generations.
E) RACISM DOESN’T STOP AT THE MOMENT IT’S EXPERIENCED: IT TRANSFORMS BEHAVIOR AND LIFE PATHS, AND IMPACTS THE MENTAL HEALTH OF VICTIMS
9 – More than half of victims (52%) have adopted avoidance behaviors to protect themselves from the risk of racism, a proportion that rises to 81% among Jewish victims. These behaviors are multiform: 39% avoided frequenting certain streets or areas, 19% avoided displaying an appearance likely to reveal their origins, 18% concealed their origins on the Internet or social networks, and 9% gave up going to a police station when they needed to.
Avoidance of public spaces affects very different profiles with the same intensity: 58% of Jewish victims and 43% of people perceiving themselves as “white” avoided certain streets or areas – revealing different geographies of the feeling of racist insecurity that cut across the entire ethno-religious spectrum of French society.
10 – The psychological and existential consequences of racism are profound and long-lasting: 24% of victims have experienced periods of anxiety or depression (47% of Jewish victims), and 7% have had suicidal thoughts – a figure that rises to 15% among Jews. The temptation to expatriate reflects the intensity of the distress felt: 22% of victims have already considered leaving France, a proportion that reaches 55% among Jewish victims and 30% among victims of physical assault.
The desire to leave France is fuelled by the intensity of the racism suffered. Among those who have experienced physical aggression, the figures are even higher: 67% for Jews and 54% for Muslims, showing the deleterious impact that these most serious aggressions have on belief in the republican pact. The visibility of difference goes hand in hand with the temptation to go into exile: 60% of Muslims who wear religious clothing have considered leaving the country, compared with 39% of those who do not.
IFOP’S VIEW OF THE STUDY
What sets this study apart from existing measurement systems in France is its ability to capture the full spectrum of victims of racism, without pre-selection by migratory origin. It thus sheds light on the blind spot of systems focused on post-colonial immigration, such as the TEO survey, namely so-called “integrated” minorities such as Jews – who are nonetheless overexposed to racial violence – and people perceived as “white”, who admittedly have a much lower victimization rate than visible minorities, but who in absolute terms represent millions of victims of racist aggression.
One of the main contributions of this study is also to show that, while all groups are exposed to racism, it does not take the same forms everywhere. Common dynamics emerge – starting with the extent of discrimination reported in the school environment – but experiences differ from group to group. Jews, for example, seem to be more confronted with diffuse racism, rooted in everyday life and in situations as ordinary as cab journeys. Conversely, Muslims and people perceived as “black” or “Arab” are more likely to report forms of institutional racism, in their dealings with the police or the world of work, without however adopting strategies of rupture or avoidance.
This study reveals the coexistence of two types of racism, each with its own distinct logic. The first is the racism of overexposure of visible minorities, i.e., a phenotypic, post-colonial racism that targets bodies, names and accents, and focuses on populations from recent waves of non-European immigration: the racism documented by TEO surveys. The second is racism targeting minorities that have long been integrated into French society, but are perceived in other ways – religious, civilizational, cultural – as fundamentally “other”, and whose very high exposure belies the idea that racism is merely the contemporary version of post-colonial tensions. These two figures of racism have distinct repertoires, but their effects on victims are comparable.
Indeed, it is this convergence of effects that constitutes the most striking result of the study. Despite different mechanisms, histories and intensities, racism produces the same dynamics of withdrawal, avoidance and republican disillusionment in its victims. The temptation to expatriate is the most revealing expression of this: this rate reaches dizzying levels among Jews, but also among Muslims. Racism – whatever its target, whatever its form – produces the same effects of social dislocation, institutional distrust and temptation to leave. This is what this study forcefully demonstrates: far from being the exclusive affair of a fringe of the population born of recent waves of immigration, racism is a phenomenon that concerns French society as a whole, and the fight against it calls for a mobilization that is also universal.
François Kraus, Director of Ifop’s “Politique / Actualités” department
Léo Major, head of Ifop’s “Politique / Actualités” research unit
THE LICRA’S VIEW OF THE STUDY
Founded in 1927, LICRA is an association committed to combating all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and “racial” discrimination. Faithful to a universalist republican philosophy, LICRA opposes all forms of identity assignment that tend to fragment society and undermine people’s equal rights and dignity. LICRA works in the fields of prevention, education and legal action, to ensure that speech and actions that challenge or attack this principle of equality do not go unchallenged, whatever the context in which they occur. To act wisely, it is essential to identify the dynamics of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and to document them accurately with figures, sectoral studies and first-hand accounts. Citizen action and government policies must be based on the most accurate measurements possible of phenomena which, in 2026, seem to have invaded both the public and private spheres.
With this in mind, LICRA commissioned IFOP to carry out an exceptionally large-scale survey, involving a sample of over 14,000 people, representative of the French population. In addition to longitudinal surveys carried out by social science researchers or more targeted studies, this exceptional survey provides an unprecedented snapshot of French society faced with racial violence and discrimination. It enables us both to identify collective realities and to gain a better understanding of individual situations, in order to provide the best possible responses to these situations where equality is undermined.
The IFOP/LICRA study sheds light on certain areas that structure French people’s lives, first and foremost school and work, while also analyzing the relationship between citizens and the forces of law and order, where the question of trust appears to be weakened for part of the population. We are particularly interested in the issue of mistrust in institutions, as it highlights the risks of a fractured society in which republican principles no longer constitute a common foundation and frame of reference.
The impact of violence and discrimination on people’s life choices and on their mental health takes on a very worrying aspect: avoidance behaviour, psychological suffering, suicidal thoughts, plans for exile… These realities make it necessary to consider the very concrete scope and consequences of these attacks, in their varying intensity, on the lives of French people. Beyond the difficult situations and tragedies experienced in isolation, it is ultimately the whole of society that suffers from these phenomena in their destructuring and destructive dimension. We need to be convinced that racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination have a considerable cost for our country, undermining its universalist foundations and its promises of emancipation.
This ambitious study must contribute to raising collective awareness, so that such aggression and discrimination are neither minimized, relativized nor trivialized, at the risk of a lasting weakening of the republican pact.
At a time when 46% of French people say they have been the victim of racist aggression or discrimination in their lifetime, it is high time we made this fight a major national cause.
Mario Stasi, President of LICRA
TO QUOTE THIS STUDY, THE FOLLOWING WORDING SHOULD BE USED AS A MINIMUM:
“Ifop study for LICRA conducted by telephone from August 8 to September 2, 2025 among a sample of 14,025 people representative of the population residing in metropolitan France aged 15 and over.”
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LICRA’S ANALYSIS HERE :
PRESS CONTACTS:
François Kraus (IFOP) – Tel: 06 61 00 37 76 – francois.kraus@ifop.com
Lucas Duval (LICRA) – Tel: 06 95 19 58 36
