As a British Muslim woman who has lived and worked in France, I can tell you that Islamophobia is real there. Maybe not so prevalent in the day to day dealings with work colleagues and friends but in the culture and societal structure itself.
On my first day of work, my boss called me into her office and literally told me that I am not allowed to wear my headscarf or any long skirt/dress because I look too "Islamist". She also told me not to mention this conversation to colleagues. As a 20 year old at the time and being in that kind of environment, I wasn't confident enough to do anything about the situation with colleagues. When I suggested that I could wear a turban style instead, she reluctantly agreed but tried the whole bullsht of "no other religions overtly show their religion so why should I". It was a really, really horrible experience and you can bet as soon as* I stepped foot out of that office building, I put my headscarf back on the way I usually wear it as an act of defiance.
Of course there are cultures where women are made to or shamed to wear the hijab, which is completely wrong, but forcing someone to uncover is just as bad as forcing someone to cover when it is not their choice.
You can argue that France is a secular country until you're blue in the face but for anyone who has lived or worked there, it's clear that there is a streak of Islamophobia and the whole secularism tripe often seems to point itself in the direction of Muslims.
And for whoever said it, a lot of North-African heritage Muslims are bothered by France's stance towards Muslims and the hijab. When I lived in Morocco, there were just as many hijab wearing as non-hijab wearing women. There have always been tensions between North-African Muslims (whether living in North Africa or in France) and the French, no doubt due in part to their colonial history. I actually live in an area in England where there has been a really big influx of Moroccan (in particular) heritage french Muslims who have moved to the UK precisely because of the situation in France regarding the treatment of Muslims.