As Emmanuel Macron is running for reelectio, his first mandate has been marked by never ending controversies around Muslims, identity, police brutality and constant evoking of laïcité as an endangered pillar of French exceptionalism. The outcome of his presidency contrasts tremendously with the way he was portrayed as he burst into the poitical scene as the savior of French liberalism and staunch opponent to far right candidate Marine Le Pen. So what made this drift possible and why has Macron's mandate allowed the rise of openly racist candidate Eric Zemmour? Where has the left been and why was it either absent from debates or taking sides to promote the idea of a cultural threat by Muslims? How is it that of all countries, the Christchurch terrorist was inspired by France in order to engage in the killing of nearly sixty Muslims?

Despite France's Republican ideals, racism, discrimination and inequalities are a fact of day to day life for millions of people. The country is home to the largets western Muslim minority, yet it is the first Western country to pass openly racists laws to keep Muslim girls from attending schools (hijab ban of 2004), to allow large scale police raids against Muslims (state of emergency 2015-2017), to shut organisations without due process (anti separatism law of 2021) and the list goes on.

In this 40 minute presentation, we will look at France's history and political tradition in order to decipher the dichotomy between how France portrays itself and how minorities represent its own miror.