Kurds in France may refer to people born in or residing in France of full or partial Kurds origin.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| 240,000[1] ~0.3% of the population | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Alevism and Yazidism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Iranian peoples • Turks in France |
There is a large Kurdish community in France, numbering around 240,000 people.[1] This makes the Kurdish community in France the second largest Kurdish community in the Kurdish diaspora, after Kurds in Germany.
Immigration history
editIn France, Kurdish immigrant workers from Turkey first arrived in the second half of the 1960s.[2] Thousands of political Kurdish refugees fled from Turkey during the 1970s and onward, from Iraq and Iran during the 1980s and 1990s, and from Syria during the Syrian Civil War.[2]
Political activism
editIn October 2014, Kurds in France and other European countries marched in protest at what they perceived as Turkish collaboration with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during the Siege of Kobani.[3]
On 25 July 2015, Kurds marched in Paris to protest Turkish airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions.
On 12 October 2019, thousands of Kurds in France marched to protest the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.[4]
On 23 December 2022, Kurdish protests responding to the mass shooting of Kurds in Paris turned into violent demonstrations. The indifferent attitude of the French police in providing security to the Kurdish minority paved the way for clashes between members of Kurdish community and French police.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Europe's Kurds welcome ceasefire call, await Turkish response". 21 March 2013.
- ^ a b "The Kurdish Diaspora". Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Thousands march in France, Germany, Austria to support Kobane Kurds". 12 October 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Offensive turque en Syrie : de violents combats sur le terrain, des milliers de manifestants en France". Le Monde.fr. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Tear gas fired as violent protests break out after Kurds killed in Paris attack". National News. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.