The second largest religion in France after Catholicism is not Protestantism, but Islam. Throughout France today there are more than 900 mosques servicing the practicing Muslims among the North African immigrants and their families. More than a quarter of those mosques are located in and around Paris, which has become home to many of these immigrants, a large number of whom are Arabs from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The North African population represents the working class in Paris, people who, since World War II, have provided cheap labor for France's economic growth. They have also been willing to do the jobs that the French people may not want to do.

Many of these immigrants live in the inexpensive, high-rise housing condominiums called HLM (habitations à loyer modéré). These are generally unattractive, overcrowded apartment buildings that Paris, as well as other cities, built on its outskirts back when there was a huge migration of people moving to the cities after World War II. Many Muslims live in areas such as Belleville and Goutte d'Or district. Does this type of housing exist where you live, too?

The children of the Arabs who live in France, called Beurs, have been mostly educated in French schools and now they and their parents would like to live permanently in France as French citizens. Unfortunately, their different religion and customs have made them an object of racist attack, especially by the extreme right wing, National Front party. But whatever anti-Muslim feelings there may be in France, the Muslims are now definitely a part of the country. They own property and run businesses, in Paris and elsewhere, just as other French people do.

Jews make up only one percent of the total French population, but it is the highest percentage in Western Europe. They have been a small but productive part of France's population since medieval times. More than half of them live in Paris. Though Jewish life in France improved after World War I, French Jews suffered discrimination for many centuries, including not being allowed to own property or become citizens.