This article demonstrates why collective action remains a rare phenomenon among French racial minorities. Three factors – at individual, organizational and institutional level – have been identified. First, the investigation reveals that despite feelings of racial injustice and identification expressed more frequently than previous research had indicated, French minorities demonstrate a strong mistrust of politics and collective action, distracting them from civic engagement. Then, the study over several years of eleven antiracist collectives in six cities indicates that their dominant repertoire of action is out of tune with the targeted public, mostly working-class. Finally, antiracist NGOs are subject to soft repression and channelling by institutions, which explains activists’ tactical choices, but limits their mobilization potential. This article is based on a survey comprising 160 semi-directive interviews with a diverse panel of French racial minorities and the ethnographic follow-up over several years of eleven antiracist collectives in six working-class towns in France.