The attacks in France show that its colonial past endures

The attacks in France show that its colonial past endures | Natalie Nougayr de | Opinion | The Guardian: 

An essential backdrop to many of the reactions to recent terror is France’s history, which ties its domestic politics to the turmoil of the Arab world like those of no other European state. France and Germany have the largest Muslim populations in Europe. Unlike Germany, whose Muslims are mostly of Turkish origin, France’s minority is overwhelmingly Arab because of the country’s colonial past. (In the UK, for reasons also linked to empire, Muslims are generally of Asian background.)