Samia Ghali has spent her whole political career waiting for a French election to turn its attention to the lives of her 100,000 poor, mainly Arab constituents. Now, as the presidential election descends into a debate about immigrants and Islam, she is wishing the topic hadn’t come up.

“There is an obsession with immigrants in this election,” said Ms. Ghali, one of only three Arab members of France’s senate, “but there’s no talk, even within my own party, of doing anything to help them. All we have is an increase in tension directed at Muslims.”

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