To begin with, I'm French and I live in France.
"Waves" (relative) of non-conforming muslims are everywhere in European countries due to the immigration of workforce from the ex-colonies in and to deregulated immigration as European countries have no boundaries between them thanks to the Schenghen area. "Non-conforming" muslims exist in every European countries (so do "conforming" muslims which are a majority) from Germany to Spain, to England etc. But it also happen in the US which previous traumatic events prove. For example, the Sharia law has been or may be implemented in the British legal system in 2014 which will be impossible in France.
France has had a specific custom which is one of the basis of its system which is called laïcité and which guarantees that the public sphere can not be invaded by religions therefore every representatives of the state (public officers) have to enforced that laicité and its regulations. That's why it's forbidden to wear kippas, veils or christian crosses when you work in a city hall, a public library or in a school for example. Muslims who show great importance in their attire are obviously more impacted by that law but that's how the country has been built and the law is not targetted at them even though it appears to be.
Bikers has already rallied against those types of laws because they feel like they are also being targeted (they have to take their helmets off when they get some gas for example). I consider it obvious not to be in public places with one's face masked or hidden. It's courtesy.
To finish, there were never any "social-cohesion" in France. Because of the wars (figurative or not, depending) between protestants and catholics to the royalists and republicans, bourgeois and nobles, Résistance/sovereignists and nazi-collaborationists, frenchies and first european immigration frenchies (spanish, polish, italian descent), frenchies and maghrebi immigration frenchies (algerian, tunisian or moroccan descent), communists and the state, liberals and conservatives, etc.
And let's also add to the mix the different regionalisms which come from regions which have deep-rooted identity (Britain, Corsica, Alsace/Lorraine, Basques etc.) which led to domestic terrorism acts in the past (bombs, murders, kidnappings etc.)
So the social cohesion that you are talking about, if it exists, it has and will always be impacted as it's a ever-evolving concept.
I'm not french and I don't live in France but I have friends who do and I've spoke with them about these things and personally, I think you're trying to put on for people who aren't as innately clued in as you are or you're just taking liberalism and inclusion to avoid having any discussion about social issues without seeming like being a bigot.