After 9/11 the French attitude towards Mediterranean countries experienced some change. Racism against Muslims and violent racist incidents increased, and Islamophobia is spreading among the French, including the intellectual elite. Despite the Front National not being particularly strong, its anti-Islam ideology is spreading, making people see Islam as a threat to the French modus vivendi. The idea of a “clash of civilizations” that sees all Islam as terrorist and fundamentalist, and also the new trends of cooperation with Eastern Europe, have endangered the historic ties between France and the Mediterranean countries.