No Link Between Islam, Extremism: French PM
He stressed there was no link between extremism and Islam, as he opened the conference aimed at improving ties with France's large Muslim community.
Leaders of Muslim groups called on the government to tackle Islamophobe attacks, that have risen since January's Charlie Hebdo attacks, the RFI reported.
"Islam is here to stay in France. It's the second largest religious group in our country," Valls said.
About 150 Muslim community leaders attended the meeting with top government officials and ministers.
Muslim groups refused to attend a meeting of former president Nicolas Sarkozy's Républicains party - formerly the UMP - on the "question of Islam" in France, saying that it "stigmatised" the religion.
There are about 2,500 mosques in France and another 300 projects under way.
The meeting was to discuss the construction and running mosques, as well as their security and Islam's image in the media.
The government hopes to establish forums for regular discussion.
