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Black people in France

File:Chevalier de Saint Georges.jpgThierry Henry, Christiane Taubira, Michael Pietrus, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rama Yade, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Regions with significant populations
Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes, Strasbourg, Overseas departments and territories of France
Languages
Common French with various native languages such as African languages, French Creoles and others. Those from Cape Verde speak Portuguese and Kriolu. Arabic is also used by the Muslims.
Religion
Islam, Christianity, irreligious

Black people in France are French citizens or residents who are of Black African or Caribbean ancestry. It is not inconceivable that a black majority will emerge in France within a few decades.

Population statistics

Although it is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958, various population estimates exist. One source states that there are 1.5 million black people in France, while another states 1.865 million, equivalent to just under 4 per cent of the population, with another still suggesting that the black population is in the order of 3–5 million. It is estimated that four out of five black people in France are of African descent, with the remainder being of Caribbean ancestry.

Some organizations, such as the Representative Council of Black Associations (Template:Lang-fr, CRAN), have argued in favour of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organizations and ruling politicians, often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France's secular principles and harks back to Vichy-era identity documents. During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy was polled on the issue and stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity. Part of a parliamentary bill which would have permitted the collection of data for the purpose of measuring discrimination was rejected by the Conseil Constitutionnel in November 2007.

References

1. ^ Oppenheimer, David B. (2008). "Why France needs to collect data on racial identity...in a French way". Hastings International and Comparative Law Review. 31 (2): 735–752.
2. Tagliabue, John (2005-09-21). "French blacks skeptical of race neutrality". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
3. "First French racism poll released". BBC News. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
4. Kimmelman, Michael (2008-06-17). "For blacks in France, Obama's rise is reason to rejoice, and to hope". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
5. Bennhold, Katrin (2006-08-03). "Black anchor fills top spot on French TV". International Herald Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
6. Louis-Georges, Tin (2008). "Who is afraid of Blacks in France? The Black question: The name taboo, the number taboo". French Politics, Culture & Society. 26 (1): 32–44. doi:10.3167/fpcs.2008.260103.
7. "Black residents of France say they are discriminated against". International Herald Tribune. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
8. "France's ethnic minorities: To count or not to count". The Economist. 390 (8624): 62. 2009-03-28.
9. Chrisafis, Angelique (2007-02-24). "French presidential candidates divided over race census". The Guardian. p. 25. Retrieved 2009-10-27.

See also

• Cape Verdean French

• French people of Black African descent
• French people of Senegalese descent
• French people of Malian descent
• French people of Cameroonian descent
• French people of Ivorian descent
• French people of Togolese descent
• French people of Guadeloupean descent
• People of Martiniquais descent
• People of French Guianan descent
• French people of Guinean descent
• French people of Malagasy descent
• French people of Cape Verdean descent
• French people of Gabonese descent
• French people of Beninese descent
• French people of Comorian descent
• French people of Ghanaian descent
• French people of Burkinabé descent
• French people of Angolan descent
• French people of Kenyan descent
• French people of Rwandan descent
• French people of Haitian descent
• Peoples of the African diaspora
• Ethnic groups in France
• French people of Republic of the Congo descent
• French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent