The liberal secularist values of the Fifth French Republic look set for a collision course with the burgeoning Muslim population, which has been imported mainly from France’s former colonies in the Maghreb region of North Africa.
With surveys suggesting that second and third generations of migrants are becoming more radical in their adherence to the Qur’an as groups like the Muslim Brotherhood take advantage of the emerging parallel societies fostered in ethnic minority enclaves, the issue of assimilation has become more pressing.