Discrimination in France: Between Perception and Experience

One of the key objectives of the TeO survey was to collect information on all types of discrimination (sex, ethnicity and skin colour, age, religion, sexual orientation, etc). For this purpose, questions about perceptions and experience of discrimination were asked in different sections of the questionnaire. This chapter approaches discrimination by using different indicators referring to representations of discrimination, self-reported experience of discrimination and situations involving discrimination in various areas of social life. The subjective and more objective reported occurrences of discrimination are analysed by gender, generation and ethnicity. We obtain important findings which demonstrate that 1) ethnic and racial discrimination is the most prevalent form of discrimination reported in the survey; 2) visible minorities are the most frequent targets of discrimination, mainly based on their ethnicity and skin colour; 3) in their self-reported experience of discrimination, ethnic minorities tend to underestimate rather than exaggerate its frequency. Experience of discrimination and of othering are also highly correlated and there is a significant impact of religion, for Muslims, on the risk of reporting discrimination.