It was reported that 6,300 of the 12,500 racists, xenophobic and anti-religious crimes recorded in France last year fell into the high and medium level crime category, an increase of 16 percent compared to 2020.
SSMSI, the statistics service within the Ministry of Interior, published its annual report on racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes on the occasion of March 21, Day Against Racial Discrimination.
In the report shared on the ministry’s website, it was reported that in 2021, the police and gendarmerie organizations recorded 12,500 racist, xenophobic and anti-religious crimes in France, which only covers the crimes referred to the security services and constitutes a small part of the racist acts.
In the report, it was stated that 6,300 of them fall into the category of high and medium-level crimes, and 6,200 of them are crimes that only lead to fines, and this number means an increase of 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively, compared to 2020.
In the report, it was noted that 4 out of every 5 racist crimes reported to the security forces occurred as an insult, provocation, or public humiliation.
In the report, which pointed out that the most victims of racism were in the north and east of France in the 2019-2021 period compared to the population, it was explained that most of the victims were men, people between the ages of 25 and 54 and foreigners of African origin.
France criticized for its attitude towards Muslims
As a result of the inspections carried out in 99 mosques in France in 2021, 22 of them were closed and legal proceedings were initiated for the closure of 6 of them.
The Paris administration has been criticized by the international community, non-governmental organizations, and human rights organizations, especially the United Nations (UN), on the grounds that it targets and marginalizes Muslims.
