Faith groups in France have expressed both appreciation and concern following the publication of a major statistical report by the Ministry of the Interior analysing the annual trends in violence against Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Published in April 2026 and simply titled “Report on anti-religious acts 2025”, the 40-page document provides an overview of trends in anti-religious violence since 2010 – that is, over the last fifteen years.

The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez, acknowledges unequivocally that “in recent years, our country has seen a resurgence of anti-religious acts, affecting all faiths”.

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The report admits that it is practically impossible to monitor all anti-religious attacks that happen online on social media or websites. 

Nancy Lefevre, an expert on civil liberties at the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF), told Evangelical Focus that clear information such as that contained in this report is “a great way forward” because it will enable better collaboration to identify and combat anti-religious hate crimes.

Anti-semitic attacks in France target people

The terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel on 7 October 2023 were “followed by an unprecedented rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France, which have now reached a very high level”, says the report.

“The surge in anti-Semitic incidents began the very next day after 7 October 2023 even before any Israeli response. In 2023, of the 1,676 anti-Semitic incidents recorded by the Direction nationale du renseignement territorial (DNRT), 1,242 were recorded between 7 October and 31 December 2023 alone (representing a 1,209% increase between September and October 2023)”.

Attacks against synagogues and Jewish cemeteries “remain relatively stable and limited” but “attacks on individuals that have seen the sharpest rise” in the last four years.

Only in the year 2025, a total number of 890 anti-semitic attacks against people were reported, says the Interior Ministry’s official report.  

In 2025, 627 attacks against Christian worship places

843 anti-Christian incidents were recorded in 2025, representing a 9% increase compared with 2024, driven by a rise in attacks on individuals (+70% compared with 2024). These account for a third of all anti-religious incidents (34%).

Anti-Christian acts mainly consist of “damage to property”, which accounts for 87% of recorded incidents (734 incidents, up 4 per cent compared with 2024).

“These mainly involve acts directed against Christian places of worship (627 incidents, up 8% compared with 2024), which are mainly thefts or attempted thefts (362 incidents, 43% of anti-Christian acts), vandalism (254 incidents, 30%), graffiti (81 incidents, 10%)”, says the report.

There were 45 arson attacks against Chrisitan churches in 2025 alone, the report shows.

Additionally, there was a “sharp rise” of incidents “involving disruptions to religious services and threats against worshippers have risen sharply (+86% in 2025), with 54 incidents recorded compared with 29 in 2024”.

Threats against Muslim individuals sharply on the rise

Muslims also suffered an important increase of violence in 2025.

“326 incidents recorded – an increase of 88% compared with 2024 and 35% compared with 2023”, says the French government, “driven mainly by a rise in attacks on individuals (up 151%)”.

It was the year with the highest number of incidents against Muslims in France since 2015.

“Anti-Muslim incidents now account for 13 per cent of all anti-religious incidents”, says the report, still behind the number of attacks against Jews and against Christians.

Anti-Muslim incidents consist mainly of attacks on individuals, which account for “64% of all recorded incidents (208 incidents) in 2025. The year 2025 stands out for a very sharp rise in attacks on individuals (83 incidents recorded in 2024, representing a 151 per cent increase between 2024 and 2025)”

Although fewer in number, attacks on property have also risen significantly, “with 208 incidents recorded in 2025 (a 31% increase compared with 2024)”.

There were 25 incidents related to “the dumping of pig carcasses outside places of worship and venues frequented by members of the Muslim community”.