PARIS, Oct 25: Sixty per cent of the French think Islam is too prominent in their country and nearly half view the religion as a threat to national identity, according to a survey published on Thursday.

Thirty-five per cent said they were indifferent and only five per cent thought the presence of Islam was not overwhelming, an Ifop survey for Le Figaro newspaper said.

The poll covered 1,736 persons and was conducted between Oct 15 and 18.

Forty-three per cent said the presence of Muslims was a `threat’ for national identity, 43 per cent said they did not view it as a problem and only 17 per cent saw it as culturally enriching.

France has a population of 65 million, including an estimated four million Muslims, the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.

Of those surveyed by Ifop, 67pc said Muslims were not integrated into the mainstream and 68pc thought Muslims were to blame for this.

France is officially a secular republic but religious tensions have been rising after an Al Qaeda-inspired gunman killed seven people in March as well as a grenade attack by radicals on a kosher grocery near Paris.—AFP