Some 30 percent of French citizens are racist, a new study concluded. According to research conducted by the French Consultative Commission for Human Rights, or CNCDH, 48 percent believe there are too
many foreigners in the country, 54 percent blame immigrants for not doing
enough to integrate into French society and 58 percent believe that
some situations might justify racist behavior.
The research was presented Wednesday at the weekly governmental
meeting, dedicated this week to International Human Rights Day. The report states that xenophobic, anti-Semitic and racist
acts generally are on the decline in France.
During 2006, 885 racist
threats and actions were registered, 10 percent less then in 2005. Still, anti-Semitic violence and threats increased, with 541 incidents in 2006 compared to 508 in 2005.
In spite of the general improvement, the commission stated
that the government has a long way to go, and called for better educational programs and an Internet campaign.
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