French antisemitism and Islamophobia concerns each rest on distinct historical traumas

Evidence

Those nearer pole one are primarily concerned with racism against colonial and post-colonial migrants. Because of the legacy of the Algerian war of independence, the most violent episode in the history of European decolonisation, this has the heaviest impacts on Arabs and Muslims. Islamophobia is therefore a central and pressing concern for those near pole one, although the term only came into wide use in France recently, and remains very controversial. Those nearer pole two are primarily concerned with antisemitism, which, mirroring concern about Islamophobia, also has deep resonance in France because of the legacies of the Dreyfus Affair and Vichy France’s collaboration with the Nazis. — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 1329

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the two poles of French antiracism by their anchoring historical legacies: the Algerian war vs. Dreyfus and Vichy.