She was welcomed by Chems-Eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque, who awarded her the medal of "builders of the mosques of France" as mayor of Paris.
During an exchange with representatives of the Muslim faith, Ms. Hidalgo said she was "concerned": "I see haters who want to end fraternity", targeting far-right candidates Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen .
"Some candidates, with each difficulty, say that the responsible is immigration and Islam, and carry a vision which leads to confrontation", she added, criticizing an "archaic and narrow vision of 'a France that never existed'.
The socialist at the same time defended secularism, regretting that some young people she met did not hold it as fundamental: "What are you replacing it with? And there, it is always a great silence".
Concerning the fight against Islamism, Anne Hidalgo affirmed that her model was Bernard Cazeneuve, seated at her side, taking example from "his serenity, his calm, without looking for scapegoats", when he was Minister of the Interior. , at the time of the attacks that hit France from 2015.
"He did not hesitate to say that radical Islam was a problem, but also said that it was not religion", she underlined, considering that "Republic and faith are not in opposition".
"I came to give a speech of gratitude to the work that the Muslims of France are doing to allow our country to live in brotherhood and to give prospects to French people of the Muslim faith", indicated the candidate.
She regretted that the Republic, and in particular the school, no longer "keep their promises of integration", favoring discrimination and inequalities which strike Muslims in particular.
© 2022 AFP