Graduation Year

2021

Date of Submission

4-2021

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

William Ascher

Abstract

Despite the country’s motto of liberty, equality, and fraternity, France has historically failed to ensure the well-being of its Muslim minority and today has become increasingly antagonistic towards this community. French Muslims face social stigma not only as a result of their ethnic background, but also due to their religious beliefs. The French government has played a hand in this stigmatization through policies such as the 2004 ban on hijabs in public schools, as well as through other proposals to surveil and regulate the Muslim faith community. A variety of factors including recent terror attacks have bolstered support for the far-Right in France, with the formerly centrist Macron administration taking an increasingly heavy-handed approach towards enforcing French secularism. This escalation in both anti-Muslim policy and rhetoric is not sustainable, and this thesis recommends that the French government seek to improve the lives of French Muslims rather than alienating the minority further. The government could do so by increasing funding to under-resourced suburbs, reversing bans on religious symbols, combatting hiring discrimination through the use of quotas, and addressing France's colonial history in a meaningful way.

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