France replaces ‘race’ with ‘sex’ in its constitution

The word "race" was first introduced to France's post-war constitution in 1946 to disapprove the racist ideology propagated by by the Nazis and the French regime.

By: Express Web Desk | Updated: June 29, 2018 12:08:20 pm

France replaces 'race' with 'sex' in its constitution

According to the french MPs, race is a made-up social construct and therefore should be omitted from the constitution. Even the french officials have always played down the concept of race. (Source: Reuters)

The French MPs on Wednesday unanimously voted to replace “race” with the word “sex” in their constitution. The amendment now states that citizens are equal before the law “regardless of sex, origin or religion”, the Quartz reported.

According to the french MPs, race is a made-up social construct and therefore should be omitted from the constitution. Even the french officials have always played down the concept of race.

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The word “race” was first introduced to France’s post-war constitution in 1946 to disapprove the racist ideology propagated by by the Nazis and the French regime. It was kept in 1958 update of the Constitution but in recent years the politicans have been campaigning to scrap it. Former French President Francois Hollande in his election campaign said, “there are no different races,” and the word should be eliminated.

Racial categories such as white, black and Asian which are commonly used in the US and UK does not officially exist in France. Not only this, these categories don’t find a place in most of Europe as racial statistics and Nazi Germany have been closely associated. It may also mean that the french government doesn’t keep a track of the racial mix of schools, universities and workplaces and everyone will be treated equally.

In 2007, many academics from France signed a letter of protest stating: Ethnic statistics would have the effect of bringing in the notion of ‘race’—whose non-scientific character and danger are well-known by all—and to foster inter-community conflicts, reported by The Quartz.

The critics maintain their stand that these principles do not help in determining the extent of racial discrimination in the country.

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