Tensions over race and religion in France’s presidential race

Women wait in line before voting for the first round of the presidential election at a polling station on Sunday April 10 in the Malpasse northern district of Marseille, southern France (Daniel Cole/AP)

From attacks on “wokeism” to crackdowns on mosques, France’s presidential campaign has been especially challenging for voters of immigrant heritage and religious minorities, as discourse painting them as “the other” has gained ground across a swathe of French society.

French voters head to the polls on Sunday in a run-off vote between centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron and nationalist rival Marine Le Pen, wrapping up a campaign that experts have seen as unusually dominated by discriminatory discourse and proposals targeting immigration and Islam.