Hollande admits ‘problem with Islam’

President Francois Hollande speaks of “a problem with Islam” in French society, in excerpts published on Wednesday of a book in which he also suggests that immigration needs to be curbed.

“There is a problem with Islam because Islam requires (holy) sites and recognition,” Hollande said during the book launch on Tuesday.

“It’s not Islam that poses a problem in the sense of its being a religion that is dangerous in itself, but because it wants to assert itself as a religion in the (French) republic,” he is quoted as saying “A president shouldn’t say this”. 

Elsewhere in the book, Hollande says he thinks “there are too many arrivals, immigration that should not take place.” Immigration and national identity are key themes in campaigning for next year’s presidential election.