Officially, France has around 60 millions inhabitants including 42 million Catholics, 600000 Jews, 900 000 Protestants and 5 million Muslims. Are these numbers trustworthy ?
Absolutely not. For a very simple reason : it is illegal to inquire about the so-called « race » or religion of any person living on the French soil. Demographs are obliged to ask a special permission to the State ; they can work only for a limited time and on a limited scale of population. If we take the number of Jews for example, only a minority of them are religious. The vast majority has only a vague feeling of belonging to the Jewish people, and they go once a year to the synagogue. What about the Muslims ? If we believe most journalists and politicians (not to speak of Le Pen and its extremist National Front) the most common figure turns around 5-6 millions Muslims who supposedly are all devoted to their religion.
Nevertheless, a demograph specialized in immigration studies, Michele Tribalat, estimates that there are 3 million Muslims in France and that only 20% follow all the prescriptions of Islam. (33% pray everyday, 20% go to the mosque on Friday, and 70% observe a strict fasting during the month of Ramadan). The statistics vary a lot according to the nationalities involved. show : Religious practice :
29 % of the Algerians ; 36 % of the Turks ; 40 % of the Moroccans ; 65 % of the African Mandés
Among the descendants of Algerian migrants born in France 30 % of men have a religious practice ; 40 % of women Among the youth (25-29 years) 18 % of the girls and 10 % of the boys
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