North African Racism in Europe: An Intensifying Issue

posted on: Jul 22, 2026

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

By: Nadia Boughanmi / Arab America Contributing Writer

Europe is a continent that has sparked much controversy when it comes to racism and discrimination. There is no secret when it comes to the outward racism against North Africans for being African and Arab. Many have grouped together North Africans with Muslims, where anti-Islam rhetoric commonly over laps with the anti-North African sentiment.

While North Africans leave their homes to find better opportunities in Europe, they are not accepted. Many times, they are “pushed to the side” and belittled for not being European. From political parties pushing agenda against the immigration of North Africans, to casual racism by civilians, North Africans have faced it all. 

France

30 percent: the amount of North Africans that face racism and discrimination in France. The North African diaspora in France makes up a large number of the minority groups in the country. Even though they make up such a large amount, they are still discriminated against. It is thought that the percentage of people that face hate-crimes may be higher, due there being a fear of reporting these issues to authorities. 

Xenophobia against the community has run rampant in the past couple years. With there being over 3,000 reported cases of hate crimes per year against the group. Groups like the “OSCE Hate Crime Reporting,” have put an emphasis on recording hate incidents against North Africans because of how frequently they occur. 

The racism and superiority against North Africans is nothing new to France. France had colonial rule over Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. This left a colonial legacy of systematic discrimination and oppression. The French rule over the nations had put a system of beliefs in place, that the colonial power was superior, while the colonized nations were laborers and “less than.” The North African population had faced extreme xenophobia and even torture at the expense of colonial forces, and that same xenophobia reigns true even in modern day. 

Italy

Italy has also become no stranger to large amounts of xenophobia and discrimination. The country is known throughout the North African community for its hostility and negative views towards the group. In recent decades, Italy has seen an influx of immigration from North African countries, allowing for the community to grow larger. Even with a large population, the discrimination had not stopped, if anything it became worse. 

Housing and labor barriers are amongst the largest problems for the North African population. They are denied jobs or denied housing leases because of their ethnic identities. Stereotypes formed that the group were lower class and “unworthy,” ultimately subjecting North Africans to lower wages and manual labor. 

Political institutions have not strayed shy of their outward racism against North Africans. Far-right groups in the country have started anti-immigrant rhetoric, that frequently targets the North African immigrant population. These far-right groups view North Africans as a threat to security and believe they are not welcomed in Italy. 

Tunisians have been the North African group that have seen the harshest of treatment. As of 2025, 9 Tunisians in Italian prisons had died under unknown circumstances. Families of the deceased have been left in the dark about what has truly happened to their loved ones. 

Spain

Spain has a “different approach” to discrimination against North Africans, where Moroccans are the most affected. Due to Spain and Morocco being so close, a larger amount of immigrants into Spain are from Morocco. This has led to a lot of far-right, anti-immigrant rhetoric against Moroccan populations in the country. Due to this widely spread rhetoric, it is reported that Moroccans face a disproportionately large amount of hate incidents compared to other groups in the country. 

Anti-Moroccan rhetoric is often overlapped with Islamophobia due to the historical tensions in Spain. There are long built anti-Muslim sentiments, which come from historical conflicts between the Spaniards and Muslims. Since Morocco is majority Muslim, and many people stereotype all North Africans as Muslim, Islamophobic rhetoric has spread to the Moroccan populations in Spain. 

Spanish officials put blame on Moroccan immigrants for the growing economic crisis accusing them of taking jobs from the Spanish people. There is also a blame by the far-right on Moroccans for the crime rates, referring to the community as dangerous and “thugs.” This clouded judgment makes it extremely difficult for Moroccans in finding housing and in the work force. They are pre-judged by their ethnic background, rather than salary or skill, putting them at a disadvantage to ethnically Spanish people. 

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