Racism in France

Racism is defined as the ""poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race"" and ""the belief that some races of people are better than others."" Race is defined as ""a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics."" In principal, minority groups do not exist in France. French political tradition does not use the term ""minority"" in its discourse because all of the rights that the French Revolution represents lie on two notions: the notion of state and the notion of man. Thus, French political tradition sees rights as universal and natural benefits of being human.The 1958 French constitution states:""France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic that assures equality in front of the law for all citizens, regardless of origins, race or religion.""Some believe that politicians' desire to adhere to these ideals leads to a lack of recognition of ethnic minority groups. In this vein, the State seeks that foreigners, who have acquired the French nationality, be considered and designated as French by the rest of the population and not by their ethnic origins. This leads to a lack of utilization of the term ""ethnicity"" in France. It is said that the notion of ethnicity, when it is used in France, ignores all reference to race, contrarily to the Anglo-Saxon meaning of the term.In many European nations, minority groups are characterized by a unique identity, culture, language and religion. Settlement and immigration have been accompanied by the formation of tight-knit communities within the host country, centered around a similar cultural identity. Those who are born or who have grown up in the host country have often assimilated to the host country's culture. This, however, does not prohibit them from openly claiming their origins.The existence of these groups is recognized in many European nations in both a judicial and at times political landscape. Some states give migrants specific rights related to what minority group they belong to. For example, some European nations offer minority groups the right to receive an education in their native language. France, however, does not allow these rights as it only recognizes rights in the context of citizenship and human characterization.