PARIS — In the heart of the French Republic, the century-old bedrock of laïcité—the strict separation of church and state—is facing its most profound challenge in decades. A sweeping new report by the Personal Representatives of the OSCE Chair-in-Office, following a high-level visit in June 2025, paints a portrait of a nation where the very principle designed to ensure equality is increasingly viewed as a tool of exclusion, surveillance, and “securitization.”
The report, authored by Ambassador Evren Dağdelen Akgün, Rabbi Andrew Baker, and Professor Wolfgang Palaver, offers a sobering assessment of the “Current Challenges” facing France’s diverse religious landscape. From the “atmosphere of antisemitism” on university campuses to the “collective punishment” felt by Muslim communities, the findings suggest that the French model of universalism is struggling to contain the rising tides of polarization and prejudice.
A Community in Retreat: The Jewish Experience
For the Jews of France—the largest Jewish community in Europe, numbering over 500,000—the report describes a state of “sustained” anxiety. The executive director of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) told investigators that nearly every Jewish family in the country has at least considered emigration.
The report highlights a disturbing “atmosphere” on campuses, where Jewish students report 10 to 20 violent incidents annually, often linked to pro-Palestinian activism. In secondary schools, the problem manifests as bullying so severe that many families are withdrawing their children from public education. Yet, because French law prohibits the collection of data based on religion, the exact scale of this exodus remains officially invisible—a recurring theme where the state’s “blindness” to religion hinders its ability to address specific grievances.
While the government has sought to reassure the community—President Emmanuel Macron famously stated that “France without Jews would not be France”—community leaders expressed frustration with a justice system they say fosters an “atmosphere of impunity.” The report also notes a significant financial burden: the Jewish community must largely fund its own security through the SPCJ, a cost not shared by other religious groups.
The “Securitization” of Islam
If the Jewish community feels unprotected, the Muslim community—France’s second-largest religious group with approximately 7 million members—feels targeted. The OSCE report details a “deepening of mistrust” between the state and its Muslim citizens, driven by what civil society organizations (CSOs) describe as the “securitization” of their faith.
The 2021 law on “separatism,” intended to reinforce Republican values, is seen by many as a mechanism for “collective punishment.” CSOs pointed to the expulsion of imams and the dissolution of organizations under “vague accusations.” The report highlights a striking discrepancy in justice: while 1.2 million people in France perceive themselves as victims of discrimination, only a few hundred cases are recorded annually, with convictions being “extremely rare”—sometimes as few as zero to five per year.
The report also documents a “normalized” hostility in media and politics. CNews, now France’s most-watched news channel, was cited by civil society members as broadcasting content that is “80% anti-Muslim,” often amplifying the “great replacement” theory. The result is a community that feels obliged to “constantly demonstrate their loyalty and innocence.”
The Miviludes Controversy: Vigilance or Stigmatization?
Perhaps the most contentious section of the report concerns the Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and Action Against Sectarian Aberrations, known as Miviludes. While most mainstream Christian denominations view Miviludes as a necessary shield against “sects,” the report reveals a growing chorus of concern regarding its methodology and its impact on religious freedom.
The report notes a “lack of transparency” and the “absence of a right to reply” for groups targeted by the agency. Crucially, it highlights a double standard: the same activities—such as public canvassing—that are accepted from mainstream religions are labeled as “aberrations” when practiced by minority communities like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Scientologists.
The tension is most acute regarding the Church of Scientology. The 2025 Miviludes report includes a dedicated page on the group that effectively treats it as a “cult.” According to the OSCE report, this classification “fuels discrimination and stigmatization against Scientologists.”
The consequences of this labeling are not merely rhetorical. The report details how state officials, including the Councilor for Religious Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have refused to even meet with Scientology representatives, justifying the snub by labeling them a “cult.” This “difficulty in building dialogue” suggests that for certain groups, the protections of laïcité are effectively suspended.
The “Anti-Religious” Drift of Laïcité
The OSCE representatives conclude that the “original approach” of the 1905 law—a liberal framework of separation—has drifted into an “anti-religious approach” that seeks to “remove all religious expression from the public square.”
The 2004 law banning conspicuous religious symbols in schools is a primary example. While framed as universal, the report notes it “primarily targets minorities, particularly Muslim communities.” For the Sikh community, this has meant students being pressured to cut their hair and being forced to remove turbans for official ID photos—a requirement not found in neighboring Italy or Belgium.
The report also touches on the plight of the Roma and Sinti communities, who face “widespread anti-Gypsyism” and “institutionalized segregation.” In many municipalities, Travelers are denied basic rights like education and healthcare because they lack a fixed address—a bureaucratic catch-22 that leaves them “criminalized” for their mobile way of life.
A Republic at a Crossroads
As France moves toward the 2027 elections, the report warns that far-right discourse is being “normalized” and adopted by mainstream parties. The “universalist approach” of the French state, which refuses to recognize ethnic or religious minorities in legislation, is increasingly seen as a barrier to justice rather than a guarantor of it.
“The norms on addressing racism and intolerance are good,” the Secretary General of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) told the investigators. “The problem is implementation.”
For a nation that prides itself on Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, the OSCE report serves as a stark reminder that when “equality” is used to ignore the specific realities of discrimination, it can inadvertently foster the very divisions it seeks to heal. In the streets of Paris and the suburbs of Lyon, the question is no longer just about the role of religion in the state, but whether the state can still see all its citizens—regardless of their faith—as truly equal.
