United States Department of State

“ In 2004, the Government released the Rufin Report, which concluded that racism and anti-Semitism were a threat to French democracy and that anti-Semitic acts are not only carried out by elements of the extreme right and Muslim youth of North African descent, but also by "disaffected individuals" whose anti-Semitic obsessions prompt their attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions. ”

“ A cultural association may engage in profit-making activity. Although a cultural association is not exempt from taxes, it may receive government subsidies for its cultural and educational operations, such as schools. Religious groups normally register under both of these categories; the Mormons, for example, run strictly religious activities through their association of worship and operate a school under their cultural association.
Under the 1905 statute, religious groups must apply to the local prefecture to be recognized as an association of worship and to receive tax-exempt status. ”

“ Denial of crimes against humanity is illegal. The Government has programs to combat racism and anti-Semitism through public awareness campaigns and through encouraging dialogue among local officials, police, and citizen groups. Government leaders, along with representatives from the Jewish community, the Paris and Marseille Grand Mosques, the Protestant Federation, and the French Conference of Bishops have publicly condemned racist and anti-Semitic violence. ”

“ 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. Asked about religious faith in a 2003 poll, 54 percent of those polled identified themselves as "faithful," 33 percent as atheist, 14 percent as agnostic, and 26 percent as "indifferent." ”

“ Students will not be permitted to seek exemptions on religious grounds to school dress codes. Some Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh leaders, human rights groups, and foreign governments voiced concerns about the law's potential to restrict religious freedom.
There were at least five cases when school authorities took action to prevent women and girls from wearing Muslim headscarves in public schools. In October 2003, a school disciplinary board in Aubervilliers voted to expel two female students for wearing the Muslim headscarf in school. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Printing publications, employing a board president, or running a school may disqualify a group from receiving 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 nontax-exempt Catholic associations is too numerous to estimate accurately. More than 50 associations of the Jehovah's Witnesses have tax-free status. ”

“ According to various estimates, approximately 6 percent of the country's citizens are unaffiliated with any religion.
The Jewish community numbers approximately 600,000 persons and is divided among Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox groups. According to press reports, up to 60 percent of the Jewish community celebrates at most only the High Holy Days, such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. One Jewish community leader has reported that the largest number of practicing Jewish persons in the country is Orthodox. ”

“ Some Jewish groups were outraged when a court ordered that--in the case of two 11-year-old Muslim youths expelled for accusations of physical and verbal attacks against a Jewish student--the two students be readmitted to school, and also ordered the Government to reimburse the families $1,220 (1,000 euros) each for court costs. The courts found that, while the behavior of the Muslim students merited action, the age of the students and the circumstances did not justify expulsion. ”

“ In 2003, the Court of Appeals of Paris fined the Paris-region Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology approximately $6,100 (5,000 euros) for breaking a law on information privacy; the decision was appealed. Church of Scientology representatives reported that a case filed by a parent whose child attended an "Applied Scholastics"-based school was resolved when the young woman, previously prevented by the Government from leaving the country to attend the school abroad, decided she would wait until she reached the age of eighteen and could legally make the decision herself. ”

“ Negative societal attitudes regarding the wearing of Muslim headscarves may have led to incidents of discrimination against Muslim women. 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. ”

“ Despite significant efforts by the Government to combat anti-Semitism and an overall decline in the number of incidents, anti-Semitic attacks persisted. The Government has a stated policy of monitoring potentially "dangerous" cult activity through the Inter-ministerial Monitoring Mission against Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES) . Some groups expressed concern that MIVILUDES publications contributed to public mistrust of minority religions, and that public statements from the new president indicated the organization would take a harder line against minority religions. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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." Abdelkader Bouziane, an imam, was deported from the country in October 2004, accused of publicly justifying wife-beating in an article.
The Government continued to encourage public caution toward some minority religions that it considers "cults." Mass suicides in 1994 by members of the Order of the Solar Temple led to heightened public concern about "cult" behavior. ”

“ The national French Council of the Muslim Faith and twenty-five affiliated regional councils serve as interlocutors for the Muslim community with local and national officials on such civil-religious issues as mosque construction, providing chaplains for prisons and the military, and certification of halal butchers. ”

“ Foreign missionaries from countries not exempted from visa requirements to enter the country must obtain a 3-month tourist visa before leaving their own country. All missionaries who wish to remain in the country longer than 90 days must obtain visas before entering the country. Upon arrival, missionaries must apply with the local prefecture for a carte de sejour (a document that allows a foreigner to remain in the country for a given period of time) and must provide the prefecture a letter from their sponsoring religious organization. ”

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

“ In May, the Minister of Interior commented that the increase in attacks this year "marked a resurgence--notably among some youths--of neo-Nazi ideology fed by hatred and ignorance."
In its report on anti-Semitic attacks in 2003, the NCCHR focused on an increase in the proportion of anti-Semitic incidents that took place in schools. In 2003, 22 of 125 attacks (18 percent) and 73 of 463 threats (16 percent) occurred in schools; the report shows this to be the highest proportion of incidents in schools since 1997, the oldest data in the report. ”

“ The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief issued a report indicating that the Government generally respected the right to freedom of religion or belief, but expressed concern about the application of the 1905 law, the treatment of cult groups and certain new religious movements, and the 2004 legislation regarding religious symbols in schools. ”

“ The number of threats and insults committed by the extreme right remained relatively stable (148 in 2005 as opposed to 152 in 2004) and made up 36 percent of the incidents recorded. Authorities were unable to identify the perpetrators of anti-Semitic violence in 47 percent of the cases. Individuals of "Arab-Muslim" background were responsible for 41 percent of violent incidents while members of the extreme-right were culpable for 10 percent. ”

“ In 2003, according to the Ministry of Interior's revised figures, police recorded 466 anti-Semitic threats and 127 violent attacks. Investigators were able to determine that, of the 127 violent actions reported in 2003, 6 cases involved elements of the extreme right and 44 cases involved delinquent youths from "tough neighborhoods." The Government reported that in 2003, police had sufficient evidence to question 91 suspects, arrest 69, and bring to trial 43. ”