In the context of a possible victory for the National Rally (RN) in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, the annual report of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), published Thursday June 27, takes on resonance particular. On June 12, the institution went beyond its duty of reserve by launching a call for “to block the extreme right”.
The RN program “opposes head-on” to the principles of equality, fraternity and freedom, in particular the “national preference” which constitutes ” The red wire “. The appeal is coupled with a broader warning from the institution which asks the French to “measure the exceptional gravity of their choice in light of the imperative respect in France for fundamental rights ».
The tolerance index loses three points
This political tension comes at a time when the social climate in France is deteriorating, as confirmed by the annual barometer of tolerance, which measures the place in public opinion of racist and anti-Semitic prejudices. For the second consecutive year, this survey carried out since 1990 by the CNCDH records a decline in the longitudinal tolerance index (ILT), which goes from 65 to 62 in 2023 on a scale of 0 to 100.
This index is established by researchers from a series of questions asking people to position themselves on certain statements. For example, the idea that “French Jews” where the « French Muslims » are “French like the others”. “This decline raises serious questions about the evolution of living together,” notes the president of the CNCDH, lawyer Jean-Marie Burguburu.
In the long term, the evolution of the ILT draws a constantly increasing curve, the scores being around fifty in the 1990s to exceed sixty since the beginning of the 2000s. For the researcher Nonna Mayer, who pilots the study, this “increasing structural trend” is explained, on the one hand, by “the renewal of the population, the younger generations being more tolerant”. On the other hand, by “the rise in the level of education and finally by an increasing diversity of society”. This progression is however not linear, with variations very correlated to current events.
Riots, Crépol affair and immigration law
In 2023, the year was particularly marked by polarization regarding foreigners with riots in the suburbs following the death of young Nahel, killed in Nanterre by police shooting (precisely a year ago, on 27 June 2023), the Crépol affair where young Thomas was killed during a village festival, or the debates on immigration law. If we want to see the glass half full, the CNCDH 2024 barometer is reassuring in this regard. Despite a very unfavorable context, “we are tempted to say that tolerance holds, analyse Nonna Mayer. It only fell by 3 points and remains at a high level”.
Is this a temporary decline, as has already happened in the history of the barometer, or could this trend continue over time? “It is impossible to say at the moment, but the prospect of a long conflict in the Middle East and the political situation in France may be worrying,” the researcher cautiously estimates.
The bad news from the barometer is the more marked decline in tolerance regarding Jews. The index is calculated from seven questions relating to stereotypes (relationship to power, money, etc.). “Of the seven, only one clearly increases (+7 points), the one according to which the Jews are more attached to Israel than to Francecomments Nonna Mayer. This is the old idea of the dual allegiance of the Jews. » Already in 2014, when Israel launched the “Protective Edge” military operation in Gaza, anti-Israeli demonstrations broke out in France and the idea of “foreign Jew” had resurfaced, she recalls.
On this point too, Nonna Mayer wants to highlight a reason not to despair. When asked whether anti-Semitism should be fought, 77% answered yes, 4 points more than last year. “It’s rather positive, because it means that the deterioration of the situation does not leave the French indifferent,” concludes the researcher.
