Ethncity, Color-Divide or Religion? Where Does the Politization of the Immigrant-Origin French Come from?

France is a particularly interesting case regarding ethnic politics: the French diversity is linked simulatenaously to origins, color of skin, languages, religions and colonial heritage. Nevertheless this diversity has been often reduced to Islam; its compatibility with the French and European way of life and values been regularly questioned. This frame biases political attention to religious issues, leaving aside major problems such as racial discrimination. In these settings to what extent the immigrant-origins French react and if their religious belongingve has an impact both on their participatory behaviors and their political alignment. Is religion the key explanatory factor for diversity politics in France or does it follow other lines such has class or color-divide?Some scholars (see Claude Dargent, 2002) consider Islam the main frame under which muslims take position in politics, other  such as Brouard, (2005) or  Simon (2012) stress the importance of discrimination in explaining why they support the left. Nevertheless, Islam has not being analyzed si far as a ressource for participating in politics, like it is the case for  others religions, notably in the US (Brady, Verba, and Schlozman. 1994). Based on  the Trajectoire et Origin Survey (TeO) of the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED),   this paper will focus on the influence of religion on migrants political participation.