United States Department of State

“ The 2001 About-Picard Law tightened restrictions on associations and provided for the dissolution of groups, including religious groups, under certain conditions. These include: endangering the life or the physical or psychological well-being of a person; placing minors at mortal risk; violation of another person's freedom, dignity, or identity ”

“ The Government does not keep statistics on religious affiliation. According to press reports, only 12 percent of the population attends religious services of any faith more than once per month. In a poll released in December 2004, 64.3 percent of the respondents indicated they were Catholic, even if they never attended religious services. Another 27 percent polled stated they had no religious affiliation, while 8.7 percent cited another religious affiliation. ”

“ Public schools make an effort to supply special meals for students with religious dietary restrictions. The Government subsidizes private schools, including those that are affiliated with religious organizations. ”

“ Printing publications, employing a board president, or running a school may disqualify a group from tax-exempt status.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, 109 of 1,138 Protestant associations, 15 of 147 Jewish associations, and approximately 30 of 1,050 Muslim associations have tax-free status. Approximately 100 Catholic associations are tax-exempt; a representative of the Ministry of Interior reports that the number of non-tax-exempt Catholic associations is too numerous to estimate accurately. More than 50 associations of the Jehovah's Witnesses have tax-free status. ”

“ The Government has taken other proactive steps to fight anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic attacks, including instructing police commissioners to create monitoring units in each national department and announcing in June 2004 the creation of a department-level Council of Religions to raise public awareness of increased racial and anti-sectarian incidents. ”

“ The members claimed that they were discriminatorily and punitively audited because of their classification as a cult, and that authorities adopted a new administrative regulation to retroactively tax "manual donations" offered by adherents. The association further alleged that this tax had not been applied to any other not-for-profit or religious organization, and the amount of the tax exceeds the assets of the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses in the country. ”

“ Embassy officers also meet regularly with a variety of private citizens, religious organizations, and NGOs involved in the issue. The Embassy facilitates the visits of American Members of Congress and Congressional Commissions, as well as Congressional staff members and representatives from other Government agencies, to discuss religious freedom issues with religious leaders and senior government officials. ”

“ Some Muslim and Sikh groups have protested the Government policy prohibiting the wearing of the head coverings in national identity photos. A case brought before the highest French court for administrative matters by a Sikh wishing to be permitted to wear his turban in driver's license and passport photos was ongoing at the end of the period covered by this report.
In July 2004, Parliament passed a law permitting the expulsion of individuals for "inciting discrimination, hatred or violence against a specific person or group of persons." ”

“ Members of the Muslim community alleged that, when wearing headscarves, they had been refused service by private businesses. Media reports indicated that some companies discourage women employees from wearing the headscarf or encourage them to wear a bandanna in its place. ”

“ In November 2004, police placed 14 members of the nationalist group Clandestini Corsi under investigation. In December, Corsican authorities held a week of events aimed at increasing awareness of the danger of racism and promoting co-existence between immigrant and native Corsican populations.
According to the NCCHR, there were 595 racist acts recorded in 2004, up sharply from the 232 committed in 2003. The NCCHR study reported that, while responsible for 90 percent of acts between 1994 and 1999, far-right extremists were responsible for 14 percent of incidents in 2002 and 18 percent in 2003. ”

“ One Muslim group, however, indicates that the law has adversely affected 806 Muslim girls, whether by causing them to seek alternative educational options or requiring them to remove their veil. Media reports estimate that of the 13 million schoolchildren, approximately 1,200 Muslim school-aged girls wear veils. The Sikh community reports that of the roughly 200 school-aged Sikh boys, 84 percent are affected by the legislation. ”

“ However, 2004 marked a resurgence in extreme-right activity, which was cited as the motivating factor in 30 percent of the racist and anti-Semitic incidents. The NCCHR noted a shift, remarking that right-wing elements appeared to target individuals of Arab-Muslim background (292 acts) more often than those of Jewish origin (169 acts) .
Negative societal attitudes regarding the wearing of Muslim headscarves may have led to incidents of discrimination against Muslim women. ”

“ The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography The country has an area of 211,209 square miles, and its population is approximately 62.4 million. ”