France, with its long history of immigration, faces complex challenges related to immigrant integration, particularly concerning the rising Muslim population. The French media's portrayal of immigrants, often framed through the lens of secularism, significantly influences public perception and integration efforts. Scholars have explored secularism from various perspectives, but have not fully analyzed its discursive disciplining mechanisms. The influx of Ukrainian immigrants following the Russo-Ukrainian war provides a contrasting case, highlighting the media's contradictory discourses on immigrants: while some praise their adaptability, others reference skin color and religion. This apparent discrepancy, termed "differentiated secularism," motivates this study. The paper aims to uncover hidden religious elements in French media coverage and the mechanisms behind the contrasting portrayals of Muslim and Orthodox immigrants.

The concept of secularism is multifaceted and its interpretation varies. Rorty views it as ethical relativism enabling modern democracy, while Larrimore and Chen highlight its religious foundations. Scholars categorize secularism into moderate (tolerant and diverse), radical (strict separation of church and state), and post-secular (rediscovering religion's public value). However, few studies examine the potential power dynamics within secularism itself. The instrumentalized use of secularism is debated; externally, it serves as a foreign policy tool (e.g., Turkey's EU aspirations), and internally, it's linked to French republican values and discourse ('Laïcité'). However, critics argue that secularism is misused to exclude Muslim immigrants using cultural and racial metaphors, a "betrayal of France's founding ideals." Studies on the media image of Muslims reveal how the term "Muslim" has evolved, encompassing various groups with diverse experiences and identities. Research also highlights the influence of right-wing forces on negative portrayals, analyzing discrimination and prejudice in Western media. However, the limited theoretical explanation and focus on negative discourse necessitate a broader analysis including positive portrayals to reveal underlying ideologies. Research on Ukrainian refugee imagery is scarce, but existing work indicates their privileged status in media discourse compared to Muslim immigrants. This study offers a comparative approach to analyze both groups.

This qualitative study analyzes French media articles (2021-2023) on Muslim and Ukrainian immigrants from the Europresse database, using keywords in French related to immigration, religion, and specific nationalities. Articles were selected based on their relevance to religious immigration, encompassing reports and editorials. A total of 120 articles (100 on immigration, plus 20 supplementary materials) were included. Qualitative analysis software Nvivo was used for manual open coding and emotional coding. Open coding focused on ideological tendencies and power relations (e.g., "The Great Replacement"), while emotional coding categorized descriptive words as positive, negative, or ambiguous. Symptomatic reading was employed to identify key terms and sentences revealing discursive characteristics. The findings were then subjected to interpretive analysis.

Open and emotional coding revealed stark differences in media portrayals. For Muslim immigrants, the dominant themes (Table 1) were: principles immigrants must follow (secularism, insufficiently republican), image characteristics (invaders, conspiracies, misfits), and objects of control and discipline. The frequent association with negative emotions (Fig. 1) highlights the media's focus on religion, culture, and identity, with terms like violence, threat, and racism being prevalent. The contradictory depiction of Muslim immigrants as both invaders and subjects for discipline reflects their paradoxical status in French society. Their perceived threat to French society clashes with the expectation of integration into the secular order, leaving only the option of extremism. The secularist discipline is hollow, focusing on the religious aspect without delving into secularism's true essence. Conversely, the media's portrayal of Ukrainian immigrants (Table 2) is overwhelmingly positive and welcoming, emphasizing their similarity to French people (European, white, Christian), profitability (quality labor), and victim status (women and children, war victims). The positive emotional coding (Fig. 2) centers on unity, suggesting a shared sense of friendship and purpose. However, the use of Ukrainian immigrants as a benchmark against which to negatively compare other immigrants, particularly Muslims, reveals a deliberate instrumentalization of their positive image. This highlights the double standard and selective application of secular principles.

The findings directly address the research question by demonstrating the existence and mechanisms of differentiated secularism in French media discourse. The contrasting portrayals of Muslim and Ukrainian immigrants reveal how secularism is selectively applied and instrumentalized to maintain power structures and address anxieties surrounding national identity and societal change. The media's failure to uphold a consistent secularist identity, allowing religious biases to influence political issues, undermines the very principle it claims to uphold. The positive portrayal of Ukrainian immigrants serves not only as a humanitarian gesture, but also as a tool to further marginalize Muslim immigrants by establishing an idealized standard of integration. The study confirms that the French media act as intermediaries of power, reproducing and maintaining power structures through selective framing and implicit biases. The inherent contradictions in French media discourse reflect broader societal anxieties and political practices.

This study reveals the nuanced and contradictory ways in which French media shapes public perception of immigrants through the selective application of secular principles. Future research should investigate the relationship between this media discourse and political-economic factors, as well as explore the long-term effects on immigrant integration and social cohesion. The limitations of this study include not fully differentiating between immigrants and refugees, and a lack of sufficient attention to the differences in expression between them.

This study acknowledges several limitations. The analysis did not explicitly distinguish between immigrants and refugees, potentially influencing the interpretation of results. Furthermore, a more detailed investigation into the interplay between this discourse and political-economic factors is necessary. Finally, the study's focus on French mainstream media might not fully capture the diversity of opinions and representations found in other media outlets.