For the New York Times, French politicians and media pass over the subject in silence, in the midst of the electoral campaign.

In an article published on Sunday February 13 and entitled "the muted departure of Muslims from France", the American daily wonders about the expatriation of young French Muslim graduates.

Discrimination, feeling of insecurity or of "non-belonging": the newspaper lists some of the reasons for what it presents as a "brain drain" of people who could nevertheless "serve as models of integration".

If no data makes it possible to specify the extent of this departure, the sociologist Julien Talpin, who co-conducted a survey on Muslim emigrants, confirms the reality described by the article in the New York Times.

"It is difficult to know if we are talking about tens of thousands of people who have left the territory or just a few thousand, but it is not anecdotal", estimated, on February 16 on RFI, the researcher at CNRS.

According to Jérémy Mandin, a researcher at the University of Liège also interviewed on RFI, the climate linked to the terrorist context in France appears to be a major element in the decision to leave, while the figures for anti-Muslim acts have increased sharply in recent years. .

The most notable increase – a threefold increase – occurred in 2015, the year in which the Islamist attacks plunged France into mourning.

At the time, the interministerial delegation for the fight against racism and anti-Semitism had notably noted a sharp increase in acts and threats against Muslims after the attacks, in January and November.

A “suffocating” political and media climate

For Julien Talpin, the departure of French Muslims is explained above all by a “suffocating” climate – a term that came up several times during 150 in-depth interviews conducted by the researcher.

The many debates in the media on Islam and Muslims feed this feeling, notes the expert.

This is highlighted by Nadia, a 32-year-old human resources manager, who decided to leave the Paris region in 2020 and move to London.

"The trigger for my departure was a speech by President Emmanuel Macron, she testified to France 24. The atmosphere was really heavy in France for Muslims. And it continues today with the presidential campaign. "

Considering expatriation, Réda, a 24-year-old computer science student interviewed by France 24, also insists on the recurrence, in the media, of themes around Islam, in particular that of the wearing of the veil in the public space.

"Every day, on at least one television channel, there is a debate on Islam", notes the young man, while noting the regular absence of Muslims on the sets.

"When I see all these debates, it exasperates me because in most of them, there is no Muslim," he adds.

A 23-year-old student of the Muslim faith, also thinking of leaving, Nada for her part expresses the regular need to cut herself off from the news channels and social networks.

"When the media is talking about you every day, you can't pretend it doesn't reach you. You have to know how to take a break, stop listening to the radio and leave Twitter for a few days, while the storm passes We have to know how to distance ourselves for our own good,” explains the young woman.

If she has not yet taken the step, the young student is thinking about a possible expatriation, pushed by her parents.

"If I had to leave, the ideal country for me would be Canada. Or England, to stay close to my family. I have the impression that these are countries where you count for what you do and not for what you are. In any case, we do not judge you for what you are", she believes.

"The elections are the moment when it hits the hardest against us"

For those interviewed, the proximity of the presidential election, which is due to take place on April 10 and 24, contributes to the climate hostile to Muslims.

“We are in a particular context, that of the electoral campaign, where certain subjects are particularly popular with the candidates, such as that of Islam, underlines for her part Mihaela-Alexandra Tudor, lecturer at the Paul Valéry University of Montpellier and researcher in public and political communication. Certain notions such as the 'great replacement' create a lot of controversy."

"We know that the elections are the moment when it hits the hardest against us," said Nada.

"I do not recognize myself at all in the current political movements. I do not trust the left, because a large part of this left refutes the term Islamophobia", adds the student.

>> To see: "The veil in question: a French obsession?"

From London, Nadia, the human resources manager, does not rule out the possibility of returning one day to her country.

"I dare to hope that in a few years, France will be more open to multiculturalism and will recognize the diversity of its population. If, tomorrow, veiled women were accepted in companies, if there was no longer this fear around Islam, if mosques weren't regularly closed, of course I would come back."

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