Through an examination of the current census structure in France, this chapter argues that the so-called colorblindness of the French census can be analyzed as a form of colorblind racism that reproduces and maintains racial inequality in France. This chapter critically reviews the existing scholarship on the categorization of race in the census and offers an alternative to previous explanations for the absence of racial statistics in the French census. Using the lens of Bonilla-Silva’s (2006) framework on colorblind racism and Feagin’s concept of the White racial frame (2009, 2012), the chapter examines the relationship between France’s colorblind discourse and the material conditions of racial inequality. The chapter shows that France’s universalist and republican ideals, as well as the national identity principle, constructed in opposition to multiculturalism and differentialism, serve as the dominant White racial frames, as conceptualized by Feagin (2009, 2012), that deny the reality of social relations based on race and support colorblind racism while justifying a racialized definition of French nationality.

The question of whether the French census should include racial and ethnic statistics is part of a debate in France that has been going since the start of the 21st century (Simon, 2008a).

IAs well as the collection of racial or ethnic categories in the census being prohibited, it is also illegal in principle for any French government structures, and public or private institutions, to request and hold information that includes racial or ethnic categories. This arguably makes France a colorblind society by law in terms of racial categories.

At the same time, there have been several attempts over the years – mostly unsuccessful – by scholars, nongovernmental organizations, and elected officials to argue for the inclusion of “ethnic statistics,” as they have come to be called in France. The most recent attempt was made by a group of local elected officials from different minority groups who advocate for a change in the law. However, a 2010 report written by the Comité pour la Mesure et l’Évaluation de la Diversité et des Discriminations (Comedd, or Committee for the Measure and Evaluation of Diversity and Discriminations) claims that no such law is needed as France already has the necessary statistical tools to measure the diversity of the French population.