(AFP) The role of Islam in French society has emerged as a key battleground in the presidential election campaign, leaving many French Muslims uneasy over the bursts of rhetoric against the nation’s largest religious minority.
Far-right candidates Marine Le Pen of the National Rally (RN) and especially the former pundit Eric Zemmour have railed against Islam in frequent diatribes invoking security and terrorism risks.
Their messages are sometimes echoed by officials on the conservative right and allies of centrist President Emmanuel Macron, with their warnings on radical Islamism.
Such a fierce campaign debate about Islam would be less conceivable in neighbours like Britain and Germany, which also both have large Muslim minorities.
