France: Clear majority has negative perceptions mainly of Muslims and Romani people

A clear majority of French people (82 %) continue to view Romani people negatively, while 74 % of French people view Muslims negatively as well. The minority group that is best-received in the country is that of Jewish people, but prejudices against them persist as well, such as the sentiment that they wield too much power and that they have a specific relationship to money.

Overall, according to researchers, the tolerance of the French toward local minorities has improved. The number of people who do not consider themselves to be racist rose this year for the first time since 2010 to 43 %.  

Another phenomenon is the fact that more French residents say they perceive secularism to be a protection against Islam. Seven out of 10 French people are also of the opinion that there are too many immigrants in France, according to the authors of a report on French tolerance of minorities three months after the bloody attacks perpetrated by Islamist terrorists in Paris.  

"In response to those dramatic events, social relationships have become stronger, not weaker," said Christine Lazerges, chair of the National Advisory Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH). Similar surveys in the Czech Republic usually ask respondents how they would respond if a neighbor of theirs was of a certain nationality.  

Traditionally the foreign nationals most liked by inhabitants of the Czech Republic are Slovaks – 90 % say they would not have a problem with a Slovak neighbor. The Czechs also perceive Americans, the English and the French as not problematic.  

At the other end of the scale for Czechs are Afghans (18 % acceptable), Arabs (21 % acceptable), and Chechens (19 % acceptable). The clearly least-liked group, however, is that of Romani people – only 11 % of respondents consider them not problematic, while 36 % of respondents say they would be "completely unacceptable" neighbors.