Combating racism, antisemitism and xenophobia: our members contribute to the CNCDH barometer

The French National Consultative Commission for Human Rights (CNCDH) has just published its 2022 annual report on the fight against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia. Nonna Mayer, Vincent Tiberj, Yuma Ando and Tommaso Vitale contributed to the report by analysing data from the "racism barometer".

Every year since 1990, the CNCDH submits a report to the French government on the state of racism, antisemitism and xenophobia in France. These reports are based in particular on an opinion survey carried out face-to-face onlarge national samples representative of the adult population living in metropolitan France (1,214 people in the 2022 survey conducted by IPSOS). Over the last twenty years, the data from this barometer has been examined in detail by a research team currently made up of three members of the CEE, Nonna Mayer, Emerita Research Professor at the CNRS, Yuma Ando, Statistician at the CNRS, and Tommaso Vitale, Associate Professor at Sciences Po, as well as Vincent Tiberj, Professor at Sciences Po Bordeaux and associate member of the CEE.

Over the long term, the barometer shows a decline in prejudice, as measured by the Longitudinal Tolerance Index constructed by Vincent Tiberj on the basis of recurring survey questions. Expressed on a 0 to 100 scale, the index has risen by 12 points since 1990, from 52 to 64. In detail, the various minorities are not equal when it comes to prejudice: although tolerance is improving for all, the Roma are still the most discriminated against of all.

For their part, the members of the CEE systematically explore the relationships between prejudices, their explanatory factors and the underlying rhetoric using various statistical techniques. They converge to show that negative perceptions against different minority groups (Jews, Muslims, Blacks, North Africans, Asians, Roma, immigrants, etc.) are on the whole correlated. However, it is anti-immigrant sentiment that appears to be the most structuring: a person who rejects immigrants has a high probability of also expressing anti-Semitic or anti-Islamic views, and so on.

Generation turnover, level of education, political orientation and perceived personal economic status (but not gender) are correlated with the level of tolerance: the younger generations, those with higher levels of education and those who declare themselves to be on the left are on the whole more tolerant; those who perceive their financial circumstances as deteriorating are less so.

Finally, the barometer dispels some common misconceptions. For example, anti-Semitic opinions in France are still underpinned by old stereotypes linked to power and money, rather than by a negative image of Israel. And rejection of Islam does not come in the name of secularism or feminism: on the contrary, aversion to Islam is strongest among the least feminist and least pro-secularism people.

Find out more

A synthesis of the report is available in English on the CNCDH website.

Published on July 18th, 2023