There are many things to love about France. But the country's stated policy of colourblindness is not one of them. Among people leading the charge against a French conception of universalism that makes discussing race so awkward is Grace Ly. Her Chinese Cambodian parents fled the Khmer Rouge regime during the late 1970s for France, and she has found success and celebrity with books like Jeune fille modèle and the podcast Kiffe Ta Race, which she co-hosts with Rokhaya Diallo. Grace says while the French still preach the idea that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Republic — the reality is very different. She cites the notorious words of former French interior minister Brice Hortefeux who was caught saying in reference to immigrants of North African descent that, "when there is one it's OK" but that, "when there are lots of them that there are problems." Grace is from an Asian European community that's often portrayed as a hardworking and law-abiding model minority. But she says that's a corrosive stereotype, and she too has to navigate the double standards of French universalism. "When I walk out in the streets, people see me, they actually see me very well because they still say ni hao to me, so they do see me. But it's what they want me to be. They want me to be invisible." Grace is in conversation with journalist and think tanker Shada Islam and commentator Helena Malikova.

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