Islam in France


is the second-largest religion in France after Christianity. As of the most recent estimates, it is followed by approximately 10% of the population aged 18–59 in 2019-2020—according to data from INSEE.
The majority of Muslims in France belong to the Sunni denomination and are of foreign origins. Sizeable minorities of Shia and non-denominational Muslims also exist. The French overseas region of Mayotte has a majority Muslim population, with 97% of the population following Islam.
A report from the French Institute of Statistics in 2024 have reported that 76% of Muslims in France believe that religion is very important while 24% have stated religion played a somewhat important part and role in their life.
The Insee and the National Institute for Demographic Studies in France found that the use of the veil for Muslim women has increased by 55% from 2009 to 2020. There has been a observable increase among all geographic origins, of Muslim women and among second and third generations of Muslim women in France.
According to a survey in which 536 people of Muslim origin participated, 39% of Muslims in France surveyed by the polling group IFOP said they observed Islam's five prayers daily in 2008, a steady rise from 31% in 1994, according to the study published in the Catholic daily La Croix. Mosque attendance for Friday prayers has risen to 23% in 2008, up from 16% in 1994, while Ramadan observance has reached 70% in 2008 compared to 60% in 1994. Alcohol consumption also declined from 39% to 34%.

History

Early history

During the conquest of Iberia and the conquest of Gaul, the Umayyad forces would conquer and annex the entirety of the Iberian Peninsula and modern day southern France. Although they would eventually withdraw in 732 AD, Septimania remained under Umayyad dominance until 759. During a later battle, the Al Andalusians established the fortress Fraxinetum.
In 838, the Annales Bertiniani record that Muslims raided Marseille in southern France, plundered its religious houses and took captive both men and women, clerical and lay, as slaves. In 842, the Annales report a raid in the vicinity of Arles. In 869, raiders returned to Arles and captured the archbishop, Roland. They accepted a ransom in return for the archbishop, but when they handed him over he was already dead. The construction of a castle in the Camargue following these raids up the Rhône may have induced raiders to try points further east, culminating in the establishment of a permanent base of operations at Fraxinetum. In 887, Muslim forces from Al-Andalus conquered several bases in France and established the emirate of Fraxinet. They were eventually defeated and expelled in 975.
During the winter of 1543–1544, after the siege of Nice, Toulon was used as an Ottoman naval base under admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa. The Christian population was temporarily evacuated, and Toulon Cathedral was briefly converted into a mosque until the Ottomans' departure.
After the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain in 1609–1614, about 50,000 Moriscos entered France, according to the research of Henri Lapeyre.

1960-1970s labor immigration

Muslim immigration, mostly male, was high in the late 1960s and 1970s. These immigrants mostly hailed from Algeria and other former French colonies in North Africa; however, Islam has had an older history in France, since the Great Mosque of Paris was built in 1922, as a sign of recognition from the French Republic to the fallen Muslim tirailleurs mainly coming from Algeria, in particular at the battle of Verdun and the takeover of the Douaumont fort.

French Council of the Muslim Faith

Though the French State is secular, in recent years the government has tried to organize a representation of French Muslims. In 2002, the then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy initiated the creation of a "French Council of the Muslim Faith", though wide criticism claimed this would only encourage communitarianism. Though the CFCM is informally recognized by the national government, it is a private nonprofit association with no special legal status., it is headed by the rector of the Paris Mosque, Dalil Boubakeur – who harshly criticized the controversial Union of Islamic Organisations of France for involving itself in political matters during the 2005 riots. Sarkozy's views on laïcité have been widely criticized by left- and right-wing members of parliament; more specifically, he was accused, during the creation of the CFCM, of favoring the more extreme sectors of Muslim representation in the Council, in particular the UOIF.

Second generation immigrants

The first generation of Muslim immigrants, who are today mostly retired from the workforce, kept strong ties with their countries, where their families lived. In 1976, the government passed a law allowing families of these immigrants to settle in France. Thus, the spouses, children, and other family members of these immigrants also came to France. Most immigrants, realizing that they could not or did not want to return to their homeland, asked for French nationality before quietly retiring. However, many live alone in housing projects, having now lost their ties with their families and friends back from their home countries.
Olivier Roy indicates that for first-generation immigrants, the fact that they are Muslims is only one element among others. Their identification with their country of origin is much stronger: they see themselves first through their descent.
The false claim that a third of newborns in France have Muslim parents, is brought up in sensationalist American immigration discourse.

Maghrebis

According to Michèle Tribalat, a researcher at INED, people of Maghrebi origin in France represent 82% of the Muslim population. Others are from sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey. She estimated that there were 3.5 million people of Maghrebi origin living in France in 2005 corresponding to 5.8% of the total French metropolitan population. Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Paris region. Many famous French people like Edith Piaf, Isabelle Adjani, Arnaud Montebourg, Alain Bashung, Dany Boon, and many others have varying degrees of Maghrebi ancestry.
Below is a table of the population of Maghrebi origin in France, numbers are in thousands:
Country19992005% 1999/2005% French population
Algeria1,5771,865+18.3%3.1%
Immigrants574679
Born in France1,0031,186
Morocco1,0051,201+19.5%2.0%
Immigrants523625
Born in France482576
Tunisia417458+9.8%0.8%
Immigrants202222
Born in France215236
Total Maghreb2,9993,524+17.5%5.8%
Immigrants1 2991 5262.5%
Born in France1 7001 9983.3%

In 2005, the percentage of young people under 18 of Maghrebi origin was about 7% in Metropolitan France, 12% in Greater Paris and above 20% in French département of Seine-Saint-Denis.
% in 2005Seine-Saint-DenisVal-de-MarneVal-d'OiseLyonParisFrance
Total Maghreb22.0%13.2%13.0%13.0%12.1%6.9%

In 2008, the French national institute of statistics, INSEE, estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. About 4 million of them are of Maghrebi origin.
According to some non-scientific sources between 5 and 6 million people of Maghrebin origin live in France corresponding to about 7–9% of the total French metropolitan population.

Religious practices

A report from the French Institute of Statistics in 2024 have reported that 76% of Muslims in France believe that religion is very important while 24% have stated religion played a somewhat important part and role in their life.
The Insee and the National Institute for Demographic Studies in France found that the use of the veil for Muslim women has increased by 55% from 2009 to 2020. There has been a observable increase among all geographic origins, of Muslim women and among second and third generations of Muslim women in France.
The great majority of Muslims practice their religion in the French framework of laïcité, as a religious code of conduct must not infringe the public area. A study in 2008 found that 39% pray five times a day, 23% attend mosque on Fridays, 70% observe the fast of Ramadan, and 66% abstain from alcohol. Rachel Brown shows that some Muslims in France alter some of these religious practices, particularly food practices, as a means of showing "integration" into French culture. According to expert Franck Fregosi: "Although fasting during Ramadan is the most popular practice, it ranks more as a sign of Muslim identity than piety, and it is more a sign of belonging to a culture and a community", and he added that not drinking alcohol "seems to be more a cultural behavior".
Some Muslims request the recognition of an Islamic community in France with an official status.
Two main organizations are recognized by the French Council of Muslim Faith : the "Federation of the French Muslims" with a majority of Moroccan leaders, and the controversial "Union of Islamic Organisations of France" . In 2008, there were about 2,125 Muslim places of worship in France.